From a kitten who almost wasn't to a brand of designer cat toys spreading love, joy, and hope around the world
Small Beginnings
In late 1997, a small mother cat almost died giving birth to her first litter. By the end of the day, all the kittens were stillborn, except for one little boy.
With the help of a caring vet, the mother's life was saved, and so the little boy was given a chance to survive. And survive he did. Soon was showing the world his big personality. The mother cat belonged to a friend, and every time I visited I was impressed with the kitten's spirit and love of life.
A New Home
Unexpectedly, when the kitten was weaned, my friend asked if I wanted to adopt him. Am I ever glad I said yes to this surprise offer!
By this point, the kitten had already earned a name: Sony, They named him after the stereo box that was his bed due to his matching the caption on the side "Small size, big volume." Starting as a baby and going through his whole life, he was never afraid to use his voice to make his opinions and feelings heard.
Sony rode home with me, cradled in one arm, clutching the scratching post toy shown in the picture above, while I drove with the other arm. He loved life and loved to play. One of his favorite games was to sneak up and catch people off guard by pouncing or swatting. If they genuinely squealed in surprise, even better! Thus he earned his second name: Boo Boy.
The Adventure of Life
Our almost 20 year journey together had begun.
Boo studied with me through college, while I taught him a large vocabulary and to come on command. He thought he was a person and only responded to "come here", and never to something demeaning like "kitty". I could never reliably get phone messages because he figured out how to work the answering machine and would hit the button to play (and then erase) any messages left while I was gone.
He moved with me across the country and supervised my work the rest of his life. Every time we moved to a new place, he relished finding all the new high places he could climb and all the new spots he could hide. He loved meeting new people, and was properly offended if anyone didn't include him in introductions or when they said goodbye.
Becoming a Feral Kitten Mentor
Boo thought he was a person and never wanted any cats around. But later in his life the universe had other ideas...
I'll tell the story of the rescue in a later post, but this event had a senior Boo suddenly and unhappily needing to share his house with three feral kittens who were getting close to a year old and in dire need of socialization.
Alex loved people and adapted quickly, but the boys were very scared and didn't understand being in a house or around people. Though Boo made it clear he wanted nothing to do with them, they followed him around and watched what he did. They trusted him because he was a cat.
By observing and copying him, they learned to be house cats, be petted, and begin to trust people. Though his help was given grudgingly, especially at first, he was the reason they were able to be domesticated and have a better life.
Leaving a Legacy
Boo passed away in 2017, at almost 20 years of age, but his story is far from over.
Boo loved fiercely and held onto life for as long as he could. His strong spirit and zest for life, even in the face of challenges, will live on forever.
His lifelong love of play inspired me to start Boo Boy Cat Toys, to spread joy though designing and creating quality toys for cats and their people to enjoy together. And in his memory, I donate to a cat rescue for every toy sold, so that the love and hope he shared with feral kittens in need of a home never dims.