Beggar Kitty

My mom lives with a cat with a real attitude.

Beggar, was born in Mom’s yard In June of 2003. The mother cat sort of belonged to the neighbor but was allowed to wander the neighborhood.

Mom's yard has hundreds of plants, all in pots so she can move them around easily, relocating them when they are in and out of bloom. There are loads of hiding places all over the yard due to equipment, materials, and decorations we have in place. This is much different from the vast expanses of most yards in the neighborhood (properties are a sixty feet wide by a hundred foot deep. Because of the hiding places, a lot of critters call her yard home.

The neighbor's momma cat found the great hiding places in mom's yard perfect for having her kittens. Mom found the kittens and tried hard to tame them. At about that time, a black kitten appeared, born from a different brood. It was outside meowing. they gave it food and it decided to stay. They called it KITTY KAT.

The neighbors gave away the first litter of kittens, just in time for her to become pregnant again. When she had this brood, Beggar was born.


Even as a little kitten, Beggar had an attitude. You picked him up and he would fight you. The others of the litter became more loving. The neighbor eventually found homes for the mother cat and the kittens, but kept Beggar for some unknown reason.

We called him Beggar because he would come over and beg food from Kitty Kat. Later, Beggar would push Kitty Kat away and eat his food and eat.

I was the only one able to pick beggar up for a moment, and was also the only one who could pet him, which was about six times and only when he was eating.

Beggar later adopted Mom’s yard, not leaving at least during the day. He was still a wild creature. Mom later asked the neighbors if they wanted him back. They said no, which was not surprising.

In October two years ago, I was still the only one who could really handle Beggar. I got the idea to try to tame him. I knew I could pet him six times, while he was eating, I decided to give him just enough food to pet him that six times before he swatted at me. I would then wait for him to calm down, then give him a few more grains and pet him again six times or so.

It was hard to do this training as I was there only on weekends, My mom could not handle him and did not want to, and I knew it would be more effective if I was stayed with him all day long.

After some months, he found he actually liked being petted. At first only on top the head when he was on alert about something, then down the back.

Last year, Mom started petting his tail when he wrapped it around her leg. he seamed to like that. She then petted his hind end, and sometimes his head if he was being good, and Soon she was petting him all over.

We continued to work on him in our own ways. We found that he increasing allowed us more freedom on how we could handle him. He learned he loved the attention.

There was a point where he would not let you pet him unless he was eating. Now, he does not really want to eat unless you are there, ready to pet him. He loves our company. when he has had enough attention, he will usually lay nearby, or sometimes will lay between our feet and sleep, or on top our foot. The problem is that we seldom sit in the back yard for long enough times to satisfy him..

Right now, his good moods,, are like a good cat that is in a really bad mood. He stopped striking us with a claw any more, though he will do that when he is really bad. usually, he will wave a paw in the air or nip close to your hand if you push your luck on doing something he is not happy about or do something too long. Usually though, all that is needed is sharp glance, him jerking his head around to look at us.

Of the dozens of cats that passed our way, he has always been my favorite. He was always a challenge which was part of his charm for me.

If you notice from the pictures, he has strong eyelids that say over his eyes. It sort of gives an "evil" or mean look, but also allows him to look disinterested. I wish I could have a cat at my home. I would have taken him home long ago.