For the Love of Our stray Ruby.....................

This is Ruby, a stray cat that has been coming to our house for that last 13 years. Every night, rain or shine, snow (did I say snow) even when we have hurricanes, Ruby is there. At one time Ruby thought he might move into our garage and that was fine with us, but Ruby was moved out of the garage by Henry. Ruby didn't seem to mind, just as long as he was fed every evening.

Another stray came along and this one we named Mambo. Now Mambo's story is unbelievable. Mambo starting eating at our front door just like Ruby and they became friends. Ruby is a male and Mambo is female. We happened to see Mambo (whom we hadn't named yet) had a collar with a tag. We called the number on the tag and found the owners. They were in our area visiting their parents and Grandma didn't like Mambo. So she opened the door and kicked her out. Our neighborhood is about half a mile down the road, Mambo came here. Her people came, picked her up and took her back to Grandma's house. She went back and forth, between the two neighborhood's for some time. Came time for her people to go back to D.C. and they couldn't find her. Which I thought was a poor excuse, she always came to our neighbor hood, right to our house to eat with Ruby. We said fine, guess they really don't want her, we'll take care of her best we can.

The way Mambo got her name is, her people were diplomats in Africa, and they brought Mambo back to the state's with them when they came home. To do this when entering this country an animal has to be quarantined for a curtain amount of time, and it's a long period. Something along the lines of 3-6 month's. That would explain why she hated animal carriers and I didn't blame her. Being couped up that long and the flight to the state's itself would have been enough to traumatize anyone. You would think with everything these people put this animal through they would have wanted to keep her, they probably had allot of money invested. But no, they let her go. Knowing her story I named her Mambo. So they left her behind and she moved into our garage with Ruby.

Where ever Mambo went, Ruby followed her like a love sick little puppy. At night in the garage they would curl up together and sleep. It did a heart good to see the love these two had for each other. It went on like this for some time until another stray came along, and we called this one Henry. Henry was the meanest looking cat I have ever seen. He came to love us and we cared for him but that's another story.

Mambo took up residence at a house kitty corner from us. A man and his wife took her in, but they let her out to roam. As much as these people hated it, Mambo still came to our house to eat with Ruby. They were still love birds! These people decided to move and they left Mambo behind. THEY LEFT HER BEHIND! Can you believe it? I grew an instant dislike to these people.

Mambo and Ruby still hung together, seemed like 24/7. Maybe Ruby took Mambo home with him. I know your going to say, home, what home, strays don't have homes. Well I think Ruby has a home. He comes to our house sometimes with his coat so shiny and clean, smelt good. And I know he's not doing it himself. Also once he disappeared for around 3 week's and it drove us nuts. We drove around, showing his picture to all in and surrounding our neighborhood. We cried our heart's out. Mambo still came to eat. All of a sudden Ruby showed up and was a little thinner. So I'm thinking maybe he had a virus and his people took care of him. He was back and we drew a sigh of relief.

Life for the two lovers was good. Always playing, running, eating, sleeping together, whether napping in the garage or out under the shrub's, sometimes out in plain sight sunbathing giving each other a bath.

Through out our neighborhood there is a mile of drain pipes that the cats roam through. A wicked storm happened one day. This storm lasted all day and through the night. That evening when Ruby came to eat Mambo wasn't with him. In the morning the sun came up and everyone was out in their yards cleaning up leaves and twig's from trees and bushes the storm had tore up from it's furry. Neighbors from the end of the street came by and ask if I'd seen the black and white cat that hangs around with the gray cat because there was a black and white one down by their house that was dead. I grabbed a towel and ran down the street to their house and there she was, Mambo. I fell to my knees, picked her up in my arm, held her tight to my chest and cried. She was dead. I walked home with her still holding her tight. I walked up the driveway and my husband was waiting for me, he knew it was Mambo. He opened his arms and held both of us. Mambo must have been caught in the drain pipes during the storm. With all that she had been through, Mambo really didn't deserve this kind of end. I thought it very unfair.

Mambo is buried in my flower beds on the side of my house. She has a marker that I painted, it tells her story, I laid it over her. She is surrounded by azalea bushes, a humming bird feeder, and assorted flowers, and all the shade a cat could want. I take Ruby over there every once in a while to see her, just to tell her we still love her.

You ask me where's Ruby? Well Ruby still comes over in the evening's. He eats, sits and takes a bath, then lays down, takes a little nap. I go out side about four different time a night to see him and love him. He skirts my leg's, he buts my head to love me back. I pick him upside down and he stretches for the ground as I slowly lower him to it. He loves me and I love him. It will break my heart when he stops coming.

Ruby is getting old, I can feel his back bone. I don't know if he will make it through this winter. Monday past I put a elastic collar around his neck with a note attached. I thought for sure his people would call me, but no one has. Thursday Ruby came to eat and he had the band around his waist so I know he probably had it caught on something and it ended up around him. I took it off and said to hell with it. I will not put him in harms way.

When Ruby dies I hope it's at my house, so I can buried him with Mambo. I think they would like to be together again, at least that's what I think.