Thomas is another very peculiar name for a kitten. He was a grocery-man by trade, as he lived in a grocery store for seventeen years.
Like so many kittens, Thomas was a stray that came to the store in search of food. The proprietors of the store, two brothers, were kind to hungry and friendless kittens. They allowed this kitten to live in the store, and not many days after he arrived they named him Thomas. At night he slept in the basement of the store. He kept the store free from mice, as he was a good mouser. He was well cared for, too, as he had plenty to eat of everything that he liked which the store furnished.
Because of kind treatment and plenty to eat the kitten grew very rapidly and made a large cat when fully grown. Many months before his death he weighed thirteen or fourteen pounds and was always fat and sleek. So many poor, wretched cats that have no home could be more like Thomas if people would give them a home and treat them kindly. A kind deed, though done for a kitten, is not thrown away.
Thomas had a favorite place to sit, which was on one of the counters near the front window of the store. In this way he made many friends. He was of a lovable disposition and kind to everyone. He could have numbered these friends by the score as all the customers had a kind word or pat for him. Many people would stop at the window and look at him because he was so large and beautiful. His fur was gray and striped and he made a very pretty ornament as well as a good advertisement for the store.
The play ground for Thomas was in the basement of the store building. He had many a romp there but one romp cost him his beautiful gray coat. Near the basement stairs there was a large oil can or tank that had a large top which could be removed when the tank was filled with oil. One of the employees had left this top off and Thomas stepped into the hole while walking across the tank. The tank of coal-oil did not make a very good swimming pool nor bath tub. It was lucky for Thomas that he got out alive. The oil caused all the fur to come off his body and this left him without a coat. The only fur left was a little at the end of his tail. Some one said that his smooth body looked like that of an elephant. Thomas was ashamed of this condition and would not appear in the main room of the store. His meals had to be taken to the basement for him and even then he would not come into the light any more than necessary. For three or four weeks he remained in the dark corners of the basement until a new coat of fur was well started. The new coat was even brighter and prettier than the old one so Thomas did not lose so much after all.
One of the brothers of the store seemed to be more attached to Thomas than the other. The cat noticed this and showed his appreciation in many ways. When this brother would go to his meals Thomas would get on the front counter and watch and wait for him to return. He could see up the street for a whole block the way his kind master would return and he would watch him all the way.
For seventeen years Thomas lived in the grocery store after being taken in as a homeless kitten. The men who owned the store never regretted that they had shown kindness to a dumb animal and furnished a home for a cat that had many times repaid them for all the care and expense he had been to them. Many new friends and acquaintances had been made because of Thomas on the front counter. New customers had been added to the already long list. The store contained no mice to disturb anything and everyone seemed happy because Thomas was always happy. During all those years he never spent more than two nights outside the store building. He always attended to his own business and was satisfied to stay at home and romp in the basement play ground. At last he died of old age and for many weeks afterward people would look on the counter for the old friend of former days. There were many regrets expressed when the news went out that Thomas was dead. A life of good fellowship and love had not been lived in vain.
