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His early days
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General was sweet little cat. He was born in an alley in Philadelphia. His father was the father of many kittens. He was a big, old orange tom with one torn and lopsided ear. He was the king of the alley. This was a row house block. Each house had a little back yard, maybe 12' x 15', surrounded by a hairpin fence. A sidewalk ran along the far edge of the back yards, separating each one from the one belonging to the house across the way. No cars could go up this little alley, only foot traffic. Originally it was to provide access to the back door of the houses, but these houses were built in the 1920's and as more and more people got cars, the only time the alley was used was for trash to be brought out, or for kids to run up and down. This was the perfect place for wild cats to live. There was plenty for them to eat. Pigeons, starlings and sparrows were everywhere, and sometimes mice. Neighbors up and down the block would put out food for them. There was plenty of shelter for them under porches or in thick bushes, and they thrived. There were probably 40 or 50 cats living there when General was born. They were never a problem, as they kept away from people for the most part. The old orange cat would roam up and down the alley, surveying his kingdom and checking out the cute female cats. Sometimes a fight would break out, but he always won. One day there was a new batch of kittens out walking with their mother. They were probably about four weeks old, and just starting to get around. They were very curious, and, although their mother was very protective and usually stayed away from humans, she allowed her kittens to make friends with the children of the block. My 3 children convinced a little striped kitten to come into our yard and hang out with them. He was very sweet and friendly, and liked being held and pampered. This went on for a few months. Then, one day, he disappeared. They looked for him and called him, but he never came. He was gone for a few months, and then he suddenly reappeared. It turned out that a lady across the alley and about five houses up had adopted him, and kept him in her house until he matured and began spraying everything. She didn't want that in her house, so out he went. He came to visit us a lot, but he never seemed willing to come in and stay. He was an alley cat, and he intended to stay that way. My children, however, were determined to get him to join our family. They would bring him in the house, and he'd stay for a couple of hours, and then be'd be gone. Same thing next day. They named him General. I never knew exactly where the name came from, but it did suit him. He'd come running when the children went out in the yard, and had a wonderful time playing with them and being fussed over and petted and dragged into the house. Then he'd go. There came a time when we all agreed that he was going to be our cat forever, but he had to be neutered and give up his freedom. Too many cats were being run over, or getting feline diseases, or being hurt in some way. The alley wasn't a safe place for General to live. We took him to the vet and had him neutered, and tried to convince him that he didn't want to go out any more and play with all his cat relatives. The summer of that year, we moved to a new house and General came with us. There were no cats roaming the streets of the new house, and General decided that he very much liked being a house cat. Being neutered helped. He stayed tough and strong and very protective of his territory, but he was happy to lay on the windowsill and look out at the birds and people. (I think he liked watching birds the most.) When we moved to our new home, we moved into a new stage in our relationship with General.
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Happy times together
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He quickly adjusted to his new life. He'd spend hours laying on the windowsill looking out at the sights. When one of us would come home, General would let out a little meow, jump down off the windowsill and lay right in the middle of the floor, just inside the front door. When the homecomer would walk in, General would pretend he was sleeping, and that he had just been awakened. He'd present himself for petting and rub against our legs, and just make sure he was properly greeted.
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