My gay cat Tobi, died a while ago. He was a cranky old cat, but I liked him. He and another cat (Stripy) lived an alternative life style. They loved each other. Sadly Stripy died a while before Tobi. They were both old cats. Tobi never quite recovered from the death of his life partner. You could tell that after Stripy died, that he became lonely, and despondent. Tobi never really seemed to care much for people. He enjoyed sleeping on our patio and eating our cat food, but that was the extent of our interaction. If you would attempt to pet him, you would very likely end up with a claw mark in your hand. Tobi was not into allowing people to touch him. He was a cat (a gay cat) and he loved another cat. He had little or no love for people.

I used to tell my wife that this cat called me names, even after he ate the food that I gave him.

"No gratitude" I would tell my wife. "That cat knows that we feed him and provide him with a place to sleep.  How does he thank us? He calls me names."
My wife shook her head. "Bill, that cat is just one of God's simple creatures. He isn't calling you names."

I muttered. "Is so…"

It wasn't until after Stripy's death that I was finally able to make up to Tobi. I noticed that he would follow me when I walked out into my back yard. One day he even started to get under my feet.

I took a chance, I reached down and touched him. He stood there and even arched his back as I petted him.

I thought that was an amazing break through. Tobi and I became friends. Not close friends, mind you, but friends to a place where I could pet him and on occasion, actually pick him up.

Tobi was lonely, he tried to make up to my other cat Tyger. Tyger let Tobi know that he did not "swing that way." Tyger had no problem with being casual friends, but that is where the relationship would end. Tyger made it very clear that if Tobi wanted to try and get amorous with him that he would be met with some very sharp claws. 

I visited with my friend Doc Harry and told him about Tobi dying.

"I didn't know that you had a gay cat," quipped Harry. "Was that Jojo involved?"
Harry likes stories about Jojo, I suspect that he thinks that the name is funny and likes using it. When ever I had a problem he'll often say something like: "It was probably that evil Jojo's fault."

I sighed, "Harry, Jojo died several years ago."  (Harry knew this, but was exercising his selective memory).

"What did he die from? Did he get hit by a car?"

"He died from Feline AIDS." I responded.

Harry cleared his throat. "Humph. That's what you get when you have unprotected cat sex."

I laughed. "No, Feline Aids is a retrovirus and it's spread by bites and scratches from infected cats, not unprotected cat sex. It's actually called FIV. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. It usually isn't fatal, but old Jojo led a pretty rough life."
(Jo Jo was a cat that didn't appear to have any particular home. He would visit a number of people in our neighborhood throughout the week, but seemed to like us best. We ended up being the ones to take him to the vet, and spend money on him, even though he really didn't belong to us).

Harry loves to poke fun at me, and will often say things just to get a reaction.
"What did you do to that cat to make it gay?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean" replied Harry, "that someone had to do something to make that cat into a sissy."

I shook my head. "Tobi wasn't a sissy, and I don't think anyone did anything to the cat to make him gay. *It's a fact that this is something that naturally occurs in nature. It happens to both birds and mammals."

Harry kept a straight face. "You mean to say that it wasn't a choice? Are you telling me that Jojo was born that way?"

"Not Jojo Harry, this cat's name was Tobi, and I don't think he chose to be gay; I believe that he was just wired different."

Harry smirked: "He was wired different alright. He was gay and died of AIDS."

I scrunched up my face. "Harry, it was Jojo that had FIV or AIDS, not Tobi. Tobi died of Kidney failure. His kidneys didn't fully develop, and they finally just shut down."

Harry looked serious. "Too bad. I guess you and Claudia should be commended for taking in abnormal cats."

"Naw," I replied.  "Tobi wasn't abnormal, he was pretty much like any other semi feral cat. He slept, he hunted and he loved to play. Even when he wouldn't let me touch him, he would still chase the light from my red laser pointer. He would chase that light all around my back yard. He enjoyed playing and he enjoyed his cat life as best he could.

Harry, my cat led an alternative life style, but we loved him. He became our cat, and eventually became our friend.

Our world is a diverse world, and not all animals or people meet our concept of normal. All creatures, no matter how you define them, benefit from friendship, love and compassion.

Tobi died, he was my friend and I will miss him."