Visitor to St. Augustine adopts, loves male calico cat

Harry proves to be rare find

Visitor to St. Augustine adopts, loves male calico cat

By ANNE C. HEYMEN,
anne.heymen@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 04/09/09

Two-month-old Harry the calico kitten isn't one in a million, but he is one in about 3,000 or more.

He's also a very lucky feline.

When it comes to animals, "calico" is a color pattern found in numerous breeds of cats, and the basic colors are black, red or orange, and white. The majority are females, but, according to a study at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Missouri, one out of 3,000 calico colored cats is male.

The kitten's mother was a feral cat found at Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort near St. Augustine Beach. She was removed from the resort before it was discovered she'd given birth to a litter.

And that's where Ludlow, Mass., resident Bob Marchese comes into the picture.

Marchese, a disabled U.S. Army veteran who served during the Vietnam era, spends about two and a half months each year in St. Augustine for health reasons, staying with his friend, Mike Powell, a resident of Treasure Beach, south of St. Augustine Beach. Powell works at Bryn Mawr, and when the kittens were discovered just after their eyes had opened, Marchese, a self-admitted softie when it comes to animals, took over bottle-feeding the tiny calico, which he named Harry, after his grandfather.

The adoption of Harry was coordinated through Goliath and BeBe's World, a nonprofit animal rescue organization operating in St. Johns County.

"This is the second calico male," for Goliath and Bebe's World in six months, said Lisa Hoff, cat coordinator.

The first one Hoff described as a "diluted calico," with muted colors.

Soon Harry, Marchese and Marchese's dog, Lucky Girl, 2, a Florida Red, became best buddies.

"My dog took over mothering," Harry Marchese said. "She's the greatest little girl. She's an alpha female. She's always the leader of the pack."

Marchese thought he had another great little girl in Harry because of the tri-color markings. That was until he took Harry to veterinarian Dr. Gary Shelton to have the kitten spayed.

When Marchese went to pick up the kitten that night, Shelton told him: "'We got a surprise for you. This is a boy!'"

If he's not a calico, Shelton said, "He's pretty darn close."

The only other possibility is he's a tabby, but Harry does have the red/orange, white and black markings.

"What a cute little cat," Shelton said of Harry. He also praised Goliath and Bebe's World for their good works.

Since the three became a family, Harry has joined Lucky Girl and Marchese on their daily fishing excursions, getting a free ride on Marchese's shoulders.

Harry is a "pretty good little boy," said Marchese, but, "like any kitten, he goes nuts sometimes."

"I love cats," just as he loves dogs, he added, but until now he never lived the kind of lifestyle conducive to having pets.

Apparently the love of pets runs in the family, because his daughter is a senior in veterinary college.

As to Harry, Lucky Girl and Marchese, they'll soon be heading back to Massachusetts. Harry most likely will be crated for the trip; Lucky Girl will take her usual place in the front seat of Marchese's car "like a person."

She "looks out the window the whole way," Marchese said.

So the story has pretty much of a happy ending. The only down side for Harry? It's too bad Marchese doesn't live in Maryland. According to the Internet, effective Oct. 1, 2001, the calico cat became the official cat of Maryland.

The item also noted that the calico shares the same colors of orange, black and white as the Baltimore oriole, the state bird, and the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly, the state insect.

But Harry probably doesn't have to worry. As crazy as Marchese is about Harry, the male calico will live like a king wherever Marchese calls home.

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April 2009 Newsletter

Well, here it is, my second newsletter and I still don’t have a picture for the newspaper! It’s been too cold! How would it look on our website if I’m sitting on my dock wrapped up in a wool coat and hat! Not a very good advertisement for St. Augustine and Treasure Beach!

By now all property owners should have received their post-card to remind you to pay your TBPOA annual dues. Oh by the way….these dues are for 2009! If you haven’t paid your 2008 dues yet….guess what…..we’ll still accept them! If you read my newsletter in January, you would have to agree…..TBPOA residents get a lot out of just $30.00 per year!

As an incentive to pay your dues, we will be organizing a community cleanup and will have a dumpster available for your use. The catch is……YOUR DUES FOR 2009 WILL HAVE TO BE PAID IN ORDER TO USE THE DUMPSTER. You will need to have your TBPOA membership card OR we will also have a paid member list at the dumpster site. I will announce the exact clean-up day in the March newsletter. GET THOSE DUES PAID!

I hope everyone is enjoying the new walkway. We have added some paint to the steps to make them stand out a little more. I’ve heard a few disgruntled comments, but all in all, I think it was a great success. We’ll also be adding a new gate at the entrance on A1A to remind people that the walkway is for the use of Treasure Beach and Seychelles Residents only.

As you have probably heard by now, State Farm Insurance has pulled completely out of the State of Florida for property insurance sales. The decision to non-renew Florida homeowner policies (which I am sure was NOT an easy decision to make) puts a tremendous stress on the existing companies that will be absorbing well over 1,000,000 policies over the next two years. It also puts stress on the homeowner who is now concerned about finding replacement coverage at a price they can afford. The State Farm agent that owned his/her own company will now be faced with lower revenue which may result in having to let go of some staff. It’s a very sad
situation for everyone involved and is another sign of our struggling economy.

Another very sad situation was the 92 year old gentleman up north (I can never remember where these things happen) that froze to death because he did not pay his heating bill. Everyone was up in arms about the electric company not having a heart and turning off the heat on a 92 year old man! Was that REALLY the problem? The man had money. In fact, when they found him he had the bill and cash to pay it in his hand.

I think the REAL problem is that no one in his neighborhood cared enough to check on him on a regular basis! He had dementia and apparently had no relatives. His neighbors HAD to know a 92 year old person lived in that house. Did it not occur to ANYONE to check on him? Could this happen in our community? Do you know your neighbor on either side of you? Does your neighbor know that if they have an emergency situation that they can come to you for help? Do they have your telephone number?

I’m ashamed to admit that I do not know my new neighbors next door…..but that is going to change this afternoon! I challenge everyone that reads this newsletter to make sure that you introduce yourself to your neighbor on each side of your home and let them know they can count on you in an emergency. For those of you that have a network of support arranged already, I applaud you!

I would guess that some Treasure Beach residents have been laid off from their job. Do you know if they are doing OK? Are they eating? Maybe you can get to know them and see if they are managing okay. Remember “the Good Samaritan” in the Bible?

OK, back to TBPOA business! The new water lines will almost be finished when you read this letter. I think we got the attention of the Fire Department Supervisor at one of our meetings last year and he helped get this pipe replacement done sooner than later.

WHAT IS COMING UP? The next community meeting will be April 7th at Beacher’s Lodge. This will be a POT LUCK meeting so you won’t want to miss this one! All residents are invited…owners or renters! There will be a sign posted in the front of TB reminding you of the date and time.

Paula Murphy