Rita's wrath sends bundle of furry joy to local couple
The Bordens warmly welcome a kitten that stowed away on a tugboat near Houston.
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
Published October 9, 2005
ST. PETERSBURG - Apparently humans weren't the only ones trying to escape Houston as Hurricane Rita approached the Gulf Coast recently.
Jane Borden discovered that a little over a week ago when she and her husband, Richard, 52, got an e-mail from a tugboat he regularly captains saying there was a stowaway aboard. The uninvited guest was a 6-month-old black and white kitten.
Borden said she guessed right away what her husband was thinking and tried to forestall him. She was sure, said Borden, 57, that the family's longtime pet, a fat 7-year-old cat named Willow, would react badly to being usurped.
Affirmation of Willow's place can be seen in the Borden's carport.
A sign that greets visitors reads: "This home is blessed with family, friends, love, laughter and a spoiled, rotten cat."
Last weekend, though, Willow was in for a shock. After Borden thought her husband had left for his three-week tugboat run to Houston, he returned home shortly after with "this little kitty cat." Borden fell in love.
"I immediately took her to the vet. She was so dirty," the professional nanny said.
The kitten, who had feasted on tuna fish doled out by a doting tugboat crew, was pronounced healthy and has since taken up residence under the same roof with a rather annoyed older cat.
The newcomer wants to play, said Borden. Willow does not.
Her husband is back on his tugboat and called to check on the new family member as soon as he got a cell phone signal.
She's thriving, but Friday morning was a little reluctant to leave her hideaway under a bed in the Bordens' guest room. Jane Borden is thrilled with her hurricane evacuee. She has named her Stowie.
