Pongo had already been returned once when I found him at a Chicago animal shelter. This animal shelter was a three-floor house where cats were free to roam - the only cats that were put in cages were the sick ones. A woman who helped at the shelter showed me around. All of the healthy cats were allowed to roam the house, with each floor being separate from the others. The first floor had lots of happy cats. Though none of the cats seemed to be much interested in me. Typical skittish cat-types. The second floor had the older cats that weren't likely to be adopted, just because they were old but not really old. Maybe those cats were having mid-life crisis, because those didn't bother to make an effort to be adopted anymore. The third floor had obese cats and cats who were so old that they didn't do anything but sleep anymore. Yet there was one other cat on that floor. This cat immediately came up to me and wrapped himself around my legs, meowing in anticipation of the love that he knew that I would give him. I asked the woman why this cat was among the obese and old cats, as he didn't seem to be either. She seemed reluctant to offer any information about him. She hemmed and hawed, and finally said that he was removed to the floor with the fat and old cats because he drove all of the other cats insane, and these were the only cats who weren't in a position to do anything about it. I started playing with him with a cat toy, and I was awed at his jumping ability (see photo sequence in the photo gallery). He could jump up 4 ft in the air from a standstill! He was very attentive and interactive. I told her that he was the one I wanted. She didn't sound entirely enthusiastic, and told me that he had been adopted before, by a little old lady, and that he had been returned to the shelter because he knocked down her knicknacks. When the woman told me that he had 6 toes on each of his front claws, that pretty much sealed the bargain.
Family Life
His name would be Pongo, for three reasons. One, he could jump and Pongo sounds sort of like Pogo. Two, he was spotted like a Dalmation, and the main dog in "101 Dalmations" (Dodie Smith) is called Pongo. And thirdly, for the Spanish word for "rapids", as I had just seen the Werner Herzog movie "Fitzcarraldo" about a crazy man with a crazy vision, who ends up driving a cruise ship through a river rapids called the "Pongo des Mortes" (Rapids of Death). We went home to my apartment in Chicago. I also had another cat, Kailee, who I had taken from my brother "until he got settled." Kailee usually could be found hiding under the bed. She was a very shy and skittish cat and wanted nothing to do with anyone. Pongo quickly acclimated to Kailee's presence and his new home. At first he behaved himself and was very polite and looked around expectantly. He wasn't frightened or cowering. He was open to the world. The two cats got used to the idea of them being together, and Kailee was trying to go back to her habit of hiding under the bed. But Pongo wouldn't let her be. The apartment had a long, hardwood hallway. All times of day or night, there would come a sound like a herd of elephants storming up and down the hallway, claws sliding across wood and cat bodies thumping into walls. They also enjoyed a game called "pounce on the cat coming out of the litter box." The litter box had a shell over it, and one cat would sit on top of the shell, waiting for the other cat to come out. You could hear one cat go in, scratch around doing its business, and then there'd be pauses of varying lengths before they'd make a break for the exit. But no cat ever escaped without getting swatted. Though Kailee was shy at first, she soon learned to throw her weight around. Though Pongo was the bully most of the time, when it came time for food, Pongo had to wait his turn. Kailee, with her superior bulk, had no problem blocking his way to the cat food.
Pain in the Neck
He was also a pain in the neck. He just never could leave well enough alone. If he knew that you were trying to deter him from something, he would just try to do it that much harder. He was always picking fights, and he made Cinders bald once. He was bold and daring -- and he got Kailee to do the crazy things he would do. I asked Dad to bury him by the tree next to the barn because Pongo used to climb that tree and be on the rooftop of the barn, and come down again without any help. But when he was trying those antics in an apartment, they weren't quite so charming. I won't name names, but I know of two individuals, otherwise cat-loving and humane, who on completely separate occassions were driven to such a state by Pongo that they threw him against the wall. He had that effect on people (and other cats.)
Adieu, Pongo
I think that Pongo helped Kailee become a friendlier kitty. She never hides under the bed anymore. She learned to assert herself. I think they had a real bond, as evidenced by a story Mom told me. She was trying to put Pongo in his cat carrier to go to the vet. He was complaining. Kailee, pacing nervously around, actually jumped on Mom's back, as if to say, "Hey, leave him alone!" He was very sweet when he wasn't causing mischief or kneading your leg to shreds with his 12 claws. When we lived in Shelter Creek he was a very good companion to me. After he woke up Robert so that he could be fed, he would come to my room and wait for me to go to the shower. He was fascinated by the shower. Sometimes he would even try to come in. Then I would come out of the shower and put on my pink bathrobe. Then I would pick him up and hold him with one hand and brush my teeth with the other. He would rub his face against my cheeck and push up against my chest, purring like a madman, just as if to say, "I'm the happiest cat in the world."
The Story of Pongo
