Patches was a stray cat who lived at my aunt's house. When I was a little girl I would go over there on Sundays, and soon he became my cat. Patches wasn't my first cat; but he was the first one I ever really became friends with.
   Patches was a unusual cat. He liked to eat anything I ate, and he would follow me around like a puppy dog. One day he brought another stray cat over, and soon we had lots of baby patches running around the carport. Unlike most father cats, he took really good care of his kittens. He loved to go around the neighborhood and roam. One day, he just went off and never returned. But that's okay, because he lived very long for a stray cat.