Meet Festus! Festus and his brother Mercury were our very first pair of cats! They were named after two Scandinavian story book characters. I distinctly recall one of the books was titled, “Festus and Mercury Catch a Pickled Herring”!
They were a pair of black and grey classic tabby cats with white, otherwise known as "bullseye tabbies" (there are 3 different tabby patterns). This means that they had the circular tabby swirl on their sides that resembles a bullseye.
I adopted them from a local cat clinic, which later became my first vet tech job and where I got my start with all things cats! Festus was the shyer of the two, but these boys chose me when I entered the adoption room. I recall them chewing on my backpack tassels. They were nine months old when we brought them home, they had been looked over for adoption many times because they were timid and sadly, Festus was also the very first cat we lost. He left us at the age of only 9 years. He was a funny little man and when he vocalized he sounded like he was gargling. It was hilarious! We called him our “gargly-spitty friend”. He also had a very silly and googly face and eyes which always made us giggle. The photos featured here were of the 35mm kind! You’ll see the caption under the one that was developed after he had passed, what a wonderful surprise that was to open. And so the heartbreak began only 9 short years after starting our family.
