I’ve always had cats and dogs in my life, but Charlie stands out most likely because of his unique personality and the fact that he lived well over 20 years. In 1962, I felt it was time to bring a cat into our home and followed up on a newspaper ad for a free cat. On arriving at the address I found a scrawny flea-bitten adult Manx cat and he pretty much adopted me! I immediately brought him to the vet for a check-up and the doctor said Charlie was so flea-infested that he was anemic. After much love and care, Charlie blossomed into a beautiful butterscotch and white fluffy cat. He was with me through every move, from Southern California to Los Altos to San Jose and, finally, Morgan Hill. In Los Altos, we took in an abandoned pregnant cat. When she had her kittens, Charlie watched over them and would hiss if the dogs got too close to their area. In San Jose he’d take his morning walk along his private freeway (the tops of the neighbors fences) and you could hear the dogs barking as he travelled along! When we moved to Morgan Hill, a series of stray cats heard through the cat grapevine that I loved cats. Each cat was brought to the vet for a check-up, vaccinations and neutered or spayed. We ended up with six cats and Charlie watched over each one. In the mid-1980’s Charlie’s kidneys failed and I held him as the vet put him to sleep. He’s buried under a tree at my home.
– Linda Propp
