the song is "You Send Me" Mr. French I first heard about Mr. French on the Acme Pet Cat's Window bulletin board in October 1998. His story begins in August, however, which is when Neko found him in her parking lot. He was friendly, neutered, and the pads on his paws were soft, so she thought he must belong to someone. She put a collar on him with a note saying please call her and let her know if he belonged to anyone. Neko never received a phone call, so she brought him in to foster. He went to a home with a resident neutered male cat, and though his new owner (who named him Pete) and Neko worked together for a couple of months to make the situation work, Pete was picked on by the other male, and both boys had inappropriate urination behavior problems, so Neko took him back. A lazy afternoon for the big guy I offered him a home then, but one of the contributors on the BB offered to give Pete a home as a companion for his older resident female, and he renamed the cat Teddy. But the stress of a new home, a temporary foster home while the owner was moving, and yet another new home resulted in a repeat of Teddy's behavior problems. Once again, I offered to give Pete/Teddy a home, and this time Neko decided he should come here to live. So, I contacted another contributor to the board and asked if she'd be willing to drive me to the Delaware Memorial Bridge (between Pennsville, NJ, and Wilmington, DE) where Neko was willing to drive up to meet us. The trip took an entire Saturday for me - I had a 2-hour train ride out to Jean's in NJ first, then we had a 2-hour drive to southern NJ to meet Neko. Then a 2-hour drive back, and a 2 1/2 hour trip home via 2 different trains, a subway, and a bus! It's amazing that this cat hadn't completely freaked out, but when I opened the carrier door to let him out, he came out purring!! New Year's Eve It took about a week for him to find his new name. He reminded me of Sebastian Cabot, the "gentleman's gentleman" Mr. French on the TV show "A Family Affair". So, one day I called "Cabot!" and got no response. I tried "Sebastian!", and again, not an eye blink or twitch of the ears. "Mr. French!" and he turned and looked me directly in the eyes and held my gaze, as if to say "Well! I'm glad you finally got it right!" And Mr. French he is! The first two weeks weren't the easiest adjustment I've ever known, but they weren't the worst, either. He arrived here the beginning of December, and has blossomed into a wonderful, intelligent, loving, cuddly, placid boy. He's never had an inappropriate elimination problem since he got here! I think this cat needed me; I know I needed him. (Even though I didn't know it.) He's such a big, plush, squeezable armful, and it's so nice to really have a cat to hold!
Once again, I offered to give Pete/Teddy a home, and this time Neko decided he should come here to live. So, I contacted another contributor to the board and asked if she'd be willing to drive me to the Delaware Memorial Bridge (between Pennsville, NJ, and Wilmington, DE) where Neko was willing to drive up to meet us. The trip took an entire Saturday for me - I had a 2-hour train ride out to Jean's in NJ first, then we had a 2-hour drive to southern NJ to meet Neko. Then a 2-hour drive back, and a 2 1/2 hour trip home via 2 different trains, a subway, and a bus! It's amazing that this cat hadn't completely freaked out, but when I opened the carrier door to let him out, he came out purring!!
The first two weeks weren't the easiest adjustment I've ever known, but they weren't the worst, either. He arrived here the beginning of December, and has blossomed into a wonderful, intelligent, loving, cuddly, placid boy. He's never had an inappropriate elimination problem since he got here! I think this cat needed me; I know I needed him. (Even though I didn't know it.) He's such a big, plush, squeezable armful, and it's so nice to really have a cat to hold!
