As I passed through the Tuscumbia bottoms this morning on my way to work I saw two shiny dots in the road ahead of me. It was 5:00 am, and I still had more than an hour's drive, and even though I am a stickler for getting to work on time stopped.

The kitty looked to be full grown but still young perhaps. I could tell that he had until then had it pretty rough, but other than extreme lethargy he was sitting up and alert.

I returned with him to my house and left him in a bathroom, after which I resumed to my journey. I would be late to work, but in God's eyes all life is precious so work would have to wait.

Even then I requested the day off and after talking shop with my boss he agreed to let me work from home. I delivered the cat to my veterinarian before noon. The prognosis was as I feared: feline AIDS.

I knew him for less than a day. He was a beautiful orange tabby. He is running free at the Rainbow Bridge.

--Willow Oak