Our Cats; Zorro
Zorro; The Best Cat Ever
We got Zorro when I worked at insurance company in Austin, about 1993, after the company moved to the offices off 2222 in Austin, Texas. One fall morning I parked and headed to the in door as usual when i was confronted by a tiny black kitten crying at the top of his voice. I imagine that to him he was saying, "Hey, help me! Pick me up! Feed me! Help!" Another UTA employee took him home at lunch but kept me up on him. When leads did not pan out, she asked if Lou and I would take him.
We brought him home and named him Zorro after one of my childhood TV heroes. He was so tiny! We had several other cats at the time and our two Rhodesian Ridgeback mixes, Tsin'tia and Quanah. We were astounded to find that whenever Quanah came near Zorro, the kitten would puff out ALL of his hair and spit at Quanah. Our 100 lb dog was terrorized by a 1 lb soaking-wet kitten! Quanah would jump over the back of the futon/couch to escape the minuscule terror.
Zorro eventually grew out of being afraid of the dogs and became great friends with both of them. He could often be found curled up with Quanah, who was also no longer afraid of Zorro.
Zorro had many dog-like characteristics and mannerisms. He always came if you called his name and liked to play with some dog toys. He was a very talkative cat. When I came home from work, he always had a lot to tell me, no doubt about all the goings-on of the day. He greeted all visitors & was glad to be stroked and petted by all. He especially loved our friend, Carol, who would pet & talk to him whenever she was over.
Once when we were watching the Antonio Banderas movie about Zorro, the cat kept coming into the living room, looking around, then going back to the bedroom. We finally figured out that every time someone on the TV said "Zorro," he came out to see who was calling him!
When a small dog started running around in our neighborhood, Zorro decided he was NOT coming in our (or Zorro's) yard under any circumstances and would take out after the poor dog as soon as it came near our yard.
Although he didn't actually hunt much himself, he was one of the cats who tried to teach kitten Candi to hunt mice. One day I went to edge of the patio, looking toward the back yard & saw all our male (neutered) cats at various points around the yard, watching little Candi with a mouse. They had caught a mouse or field vole and given it to her to learn to hunt. She played with it but eventually it got away from her & ran under the fence to the wooded lot behind us. The boys looked at her as if to say, "We caught that mouse for you and you let it get away!" They were so very disgusted with her and all got up and walked away.
Zorro came with us when we moved to Red Oak, Texas in 1999. He enjoyed being outside, and terrorizing any dogs who came into the yard. I had to get all the cats back in at night there because there were coyotes & coyotes will kill and eat cats. By the way, so will eagles and larger owls. Then when we moved to Hutto in 2004, he was right there, too. He loved our yard and seldom went out of it. He just loved to sit on the back porch as he aged. He would sit out there after dinner and then come in before bedtime.
In 2006, Zorro developed diabetes and after much testing, was prescribed injectible insulin. I gave him his insulin shots twice a day for another year. He was by then an elderly cat and liked to go sit on the back patio every night. He still always came back in the house before we went to bed. One night, he went out for his sit and never came back in. We called & looked but never found him. I think he was getting tired of the shots and just decided to go hide and get it all overwith. We still miss him and some of our friends still talk about what a great cat he was. He was every bit as good and entertaining as a dog.
Judy Ward
Revised 01/21/15
