Gato the cat.

We always had cats in the house. My beloved cat Spot (siamese) was my soul-feline. She slept with me, kept me warm during the winter nights, welcomed me when I came home from school and even had two litters of her own in my closet and drawer.

Gato joined us in the mid-90's thanks to my brother. He was from the mean streets of Miami before joining the ATO house. When he came to us - we already had two cats, Spot and Cujo (Spot's son) and he was quite a loner. He showed his hunting skills by leaving rodents at our door front or somewhere in our yard.

Now he is going on 17 years old and is showing it. He has many battle wounds like his most prominent torn ear. Mom has a resting spot set up by the radiator in our dining room. I am touched that he uses one of my first works of crochet as his blanket.