Cat of the Month: Walter

Now we're getting to the fun ones. The cats who stuck around. The cats that legends are made of.
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Walter arrived at our house as a kitten, when I was in junior high. A grey tiger with energy to burn, he was all over the place, exactly what a houseful of kids wanted. A crash in the night: Walter. A streak of grey crossing the yard: Walter. Catfoodbowl empty: Walter.
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Walter was the Cat who Broke his Leg. Yep. We found him one morning in the big laundry cart in the garage. This cart was made of strong wire, a grid with holes an inch or two across. It was just the right size for a young cat to stick his leg through, and if he leapt up with a start from the dog passing by or some exciting cat dream, snap it like a stick. Must have been - however would he have gotten in there if the leg was already broken?

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He didn't seem to mind much.

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We brought him home from the vet in quite a costume. A plaster cast from hip to toe was firmly tied to a metal frame. It was thought best that Walter not drag this heavy thing all around the house, so we put together the dog's pen in the living room. Plenty of room for the cat, a cushion, food & water bowls, personal litterbox. A palace of a cage with a lid of chicken wire. No way for the cat to escape.
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Only, one day I came home from school, and there was Walter wandering about the house.
Back in the cage; some reinforcement here and there.

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Next day, there he was again, this time without his cast. That was some trick, to push against the chickenwire cover until some of the staples gave way, squeeze through the gap, and then, getting stuck with the edge of the cast against the wooden side, to pull and pull until the leg came free. Minus most of its fur, of course.
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The vet said if Walter was that determined, it would be just as well to let his leg heal without traction. And so it was.