Ziggy

Bundles of fur and purring, Ziggy is the new cat that my parents adopted shortly before my return home. Why did they adopt him? They're just too sweet not to, is all.
He started to hang around the backyard a while back (my mother keeps various fountains and bowls of water for animals to help them endure the intense Texas heat). He couldn't be ignored, so my mother talked to him, occassionally fed him, tried to find out where he belonged. Turns out he "belongs" to a family across the golf course, but was being severely neglected. Given neither food nor water, he was not in an ideal situation. My mother, soft heart that she is, called everyone possible to find out what the deal was. ARF told her that if an animal was not given food or water for three days, not only was it neglected, it was abandoned. She tried every way she could think of to contact the woman that "owned" the cat, but she was unsuccessful. Conclusion - my parents adopted another cat.
It was in pretty bad shape, so they started on fixing the poor creature up. First, of course, is neutering ;) a favorite for all the guys out there. Then they took him to the vet and got the rundown. It had a urinary tract infection for sure. They decided to fix that first, but they were leaving for their California vacation so they had to put it in the kennel at the vet's for that time. Poor Ziggy got his antibiotic shots every day and was kept in his little cage.
The morning after my parents got home (I was home too now!), we went to pick him up.
This of immediate note about Ziggy - A male cat. My first cat Boots was a male cat, but there hasn't been another until now. His name starts with a "Z". The family tradition of naming with A's was abrupted dropped, zooming all the way to the end of the alphabet. (Amy, Allison, Annie, Aaron, Abbie, Andrew) True that he was already named by the family that had him before, but surely we could have renamed him.
He turns out to be an extremely sweet cat. Adorable in that way that cats can be. He will hop into any open lap, curl up and purr for hours. The first time he got close to me was from a charge across the yard. I had sat down on a bench near the garden and he saw it - my lap was open. He turns towards me and started his attack, a fast and determined, stunningly purposeful, run from 15 feet away, ending with a graceful leap into my startled arms.
In accordance with my plan to sleep for a week upon returning, he is the perfect companion, cuddling up beside me and napping in unison. Last note - he cries. Or, if you insist, his eyes get watery. My mom says he's emotional - happy tears, sad tears. I asked if she'd talked to the vet about it. The vet hasn't said anything yet, so for now... I have a male cat that cries tears of joy. :D
Enjoy the pictures! Last one compliments of my Daddy. :)