On our honeymoon, Juli and I headed to DelRay Beach, Florida, where we hung out for two weeks. During that time, we tried to to capture all the tourist and fun things to do in Florida… one of which was Airboat Rides! One beautiful early October day, we headed to the Everglades, to ride the airboats and see some ‘gators.

At the Airboat Shack, after our rides, we espied this little kitten, under the building, stalking a black snake that must have been at least 10 feet in length. We coaxed the little thing away from her prey, and played with her for awhile. The Proprietor said that there was a huge ca problem in Florida, where cats were abandoned, went Feral, and bred with reckless abandon out in the wild.

This cat was obviously one of those – barely civilized, very opinionated, and quick to “flop and scratch”. Juli took an immediate love to the little kitten. I was, in all truth, a bit colder, although our existing cat at home, Ludwig, might benefit from a playmate. [Ludwig was absolutely the coolest cat that ever lived, and deserves a page of her own!] Juli told the proprietors that we’d “probably” be back to collect the cat.

We went back to our timeshare, sans kitten.
Juli, however, was unrelentless. Back at our digs, she kept mentioning the kitty, and how sad it was that she was feral, had nobody to love her, and would prolly die in the jaws of a crocodile.
Finally, on the evening before we were leaving Delray Beach, I capitulated: I would toss my car keys up in the air, and if my key-fob landed up, we’d rescue the cat. Otherwise, not. Guess which way the toss went!

We packed the car the next morning, stopped by the local Publix to get some kitty supplies, and off we went to the Everglades – me busting a tollbooth in the process – and picked up the cat. We named her Delray Motorboat Gatorbait, in honor of where/under what conditions we found her.

I’ve known a lot of cats in my day – and no matter what impressions you may derive from this narrative, I do love her – but Delray is absolutely the most obstreperous, opinionated cat I have ever known. She has a lot of positive qualities, but ALL of them are on her terms: if she calls “bullshit” on you, then “bullshit” has been called – no appeal is possible.

Delray also has a little problem – she went into heat before we ever had her fixed. As a result, she has a predilection for sticking her ass up, as if to say “I’m DelRay – Fly Me!”

Hell, I’m dating myself again. Enjoy the pix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delray passed away from us at 10:35 on Halloween, October 31, 2007. She was just over 17 years old... or about 181 years old in people time.

We'll miss her furry little yowling countenance, but she is with us in spirit... we can still hear her meowing at odd hours.

Godspeed, Delray Motorboat Gatorbait.