Gary Krabs was a Russian Blue cat who lived with our family in various households from 2003-2021. We had been hearing what sounded like a small kitten crying
near our house for a few days. The day after Mother's Day in May, 2003 my Father-in-law noticed a scared kitten hiding under one of our cars.
Needless to say, the kitten followed him into the house and having decided we seemed like a nice family he decided to stick around.
He was named after the character Gary the Snail on Spongebob Squarepants but thanks to his cantankerous nature he quickly became known as
Mr Gary Krabs. He was never a cuddly cat, but would treat you to a quick rub around the legs when you came home and to those he trusted, he would allow them to pet him - but only on the head, never try anywhere else or a swift swipe would follow! He was never mean to children, even if they did occasionally get a little too rough, a quick tap on the wrist with claws
extended to say "little human kitten, please don't make me use these" was as violent as he would get. Adults, however, would feel his full
wrath if they didn't allow him to love them on his terms. All the family dogs knew that the best way to deal with Gary was to just let him
be, but if they were very lucky he would become their friend too, and if they were very very lucky he'd even run around and play fight (only a fortunate few dogs had this privelege). As a young cat, he was attacked by a loose dog and had pins in his hind legs as a result, but this never slowed him down. He also survived near death from a snake bite. On another occasion, he was "arrested" by animal control for daring to sit in our driveway. After making bail he resisted all
attempts to become an indoor cat, much to our dismay - but we tried to keep him away from the local wildlife (with some success).
He also had a mischievous streak, attacking the legs of those who came close (his favorite victim being my Mother-in-law). And, attacking again if they reacted. Ambush attacks were common, so we had to beware!
He mellowed in his old age, and would even permit us to hold him or for
those very fortunate few, he would hop on their lap and treat them to a loud purr.
In his old age Gary loved to lay on my Brother-in-law's porch or in the grass in the Florida sunshine. That's where he spent his final days and after his
passing at the grand old age of 18 was buried in the garden he loved so much. He was at the time the oldest pet in our family. We'll miss him.
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