He does have beautiful markings. (I can say that with all modesty, since I had nothing to do with the making of him.What a beautiful kitty!
)He belongs to one of the family units I ended up with from my years on the farm. His mother and her four kittens were dumped one summer. I ended up trapping the kittens one by one once they were old enough to eat well on their own. I kept the kittens I had trapped in a crate under a tree by the back door, because I was afraid the mom would take off with the remaining kittens if I took the ones I had trapped inside.
It was a really hot summer, with temperatures in excess of 105 Fahrenheit (40.5 C) for weeks on end, so covered the crate with a wet sheet and kept a fan blowing on it. After I trapped the last kitten, I could finally trap the mom.
The kittens were a bit too old for proper socialization, so two of the girls are semi feral. I was just able recently to pick Rafael up for the first time. The third girl, Alys, has been a total love from the beginning. The mom became friendly remarkably quickly, considering how much trouble I had trapping her.
I had named the mom Eleanor, but she's now Daffodil, because my sister liked that better.
(Not that my sister can remember any of my animals' names. She's given them all nicknames. Daffodil is The Tripper, because she has a real gift for tripping us. Rafael is Short Tail because his tail was broken as a kitten and the end died and fell off. Alys is Curly Tail because her tail is always curled over her back, like a little monkey. Their sister Guinevere is The ***** because she's bitchy to the other cats. Isis is The Wall Cat because she has twice dug a hole into the drywall and disappeared into the walls and under the subflooring.)
