Saturday, April 23, 2011

T is for Theophilus


Theophilus

Many of you have read my references to my wonderful cat Theophilus, but you have not had the chance to meet him. Today, you get that chance! Allow me to introduce to you, my buddy, Theophilus. Sometimes we call him Theo for short.

Theophilus is six years old, his birthday happens to be the same as mine, February 3rd. He is an American short hair feline. It wasn't until I really got into my cat (s) that I researched them and discovered what I thought was breeds of cats was simply color descriptions. He is an orange tabby as far as color.

When we moved to our current address, which consists of an acre of pasture, trees, and thick grass I put the word out that I wanted a mouser. One day my co-worker decided I was a good sucker, I mean sport, in order to get rid of his kittens, so he dropped a 5 week old kitten on my desk. Not my idea of a mouser or a good joke, but he was cute and what the heck, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. I figured if a mouse didn't get him, he would grow up to be a mouser. And did he? Wow! First class mouser.

So I brought him to home to the only home he has ever known. Yes, he did grow into those ears.

Theophilus likes to sleep on top of my chest at night. He likes breakfast in his dish no later than 5:00 AM and then goes out to do his morning constitution. Then he is off to the barn and stable to see what is over there. Since we are in the country from time to time we have had 2 or 3 strays adopt our barn in order to stay warm and dry. Then he gets some hunting in and he is back by 7:00 AM wanting a snack and some lovin'

Theophilus was born and bred in the Pacific Northwest, particularly southern Washington where we get 46 inches of rain a year. Theophilus doesn't like the rain. He knows how to stay out of the rain and lay low until he gets to come inside. He is a fair-weather cat!

By the way, I named him for Theophilus who was a Roman official that had become a Christian.

 Luke the physician who traveled with Paul wrote his two volume set, The Gospel According to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles in order to instruct Theophilus in his new found Christian faith.

The word "theophilus" comes from two Greek Words "theos" meaning God and "phileo" one of the 5 Greek words for love, meaning a love which consists of the glow of the heart kindled by the perception of that in the object which affords us pleasure. It is the response of the human [soul] to what appeals to it as pleasurable... The word was used to speak of a friendly affection. 


This is like a brotherly love toward someone and of course this is where the name Philadelphia came from. Put these two words together and you have "friend of God", "loving God" or even "loved by God." At any rate, I have a glow in my heart kindled by the antics and personality of my friend Theophilus. He is an awesome cat!



This pic was at 5:45 AM, Theo wasn't quite up to being bothered yet!
He did have this breakfast by then however!



Since he was first dropped on my desk Theophilus loves to sit on my desk. 
Theo is sitting facing me, my lap top is to the right of that document stand. 


He will come in out of the rain and sleep for hours, sometimes in my in-basket!
He won't do any paper work!



This is a shot of Theo's partner in crime - Coco


Theophilus (Theo) and Coco sitting in the my study waiting out the cold rain and supper!



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2010 A-Z Challenge:  T is for Temptation
2011 A-Z Challenge:  T is for Theophilus

12 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Gregg what a simply gorgeous cat?
I adore cats, had one myself years ago , We had her for 14 yrs, the last four years of her life she was diabetic and I had to give her insuline shots twice a day,
She had a good life and was a great comfort to me when my husband passed away,
I lost her her 2 yrs later. but she will always be remembered.
Loved your post and the pictures are splendid,

Yvonne,

Persis said...

I enjoyed reading about your feline friend. He is a handsome boy. I'd be tempted to get a cat if we didn't have the bunnies. They would not approve.

Petra said...

What a handsome fella! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Theophilus and his buddy Coco. Wishing you a glorious Resurrection Sunday!

Larri said...

Awww...Theophilus is adorable! You've captured his 'cattitude' perfectly in the photos. :o) Thanks for sharing him, as well as the background info on his name.

Happy Saturday!

PS...I won't be blog-hopping tomorrow, but have a special post scheduled. If you are hopping around Sunday, enjoy! Happy Blessings to you and your family as you prepare for Easter. :o)

Cathy M. said...

Your furry friends sure are cute. I'm afraid I'd have to draw the line at letting one sleep on top of me, though. I'm thankful for the common grace God has given us in our pets.

May you and your family have a wonderful Resurrection Day!

Anonymous said...

He seems like a "most excellent" Theophilus. What a great name for a cat! Glad I got to meet him!

Sharon said...

Gregg - I enjoyed this so much! What a wonderful cat Theo is! And I so loved the Bible lesson you gave us, too. One of the most amazing things to me is that, because of what Jesus did for me, I can now be called a friend of God.

My favorite picture?? Theo in the "in box" - that really made me laugh...

Wishing you and yours a wonder-full Easter morning!

GOD BLESS!

(p.s. Probably not a good idea to have Theo meet my granddog, Marty - huh?!)

Anonymous said...

This was a great post! Now I just happen to know firsthand how awesome these kitties are!

We made it home in time for Resurrection Day - what a great time we had visiting with you and Irene -
Blessings to you both!

Alice said...

He look so much like a cat we used to have...Jeremy:)

I miss him!

Brianna said...

This comment is from my 3 year old daughter - "aw, I wuv them."

I concur.

Theres just life said...

I once had two cats that looked just like these two. DC was a yellow tabby as well, and his sister Chloe. They were a pair and great mousers. They even taught my white shepherd how to mouse.

It is nice to met you. That is one thing I really like about this challenge, I get to met so many different types of bloggers.

Pamela Jo
http://theresjustlifeyaliveit.blogspot.com

Darlene said...

That's a great name for a cat. It seems that Theophilus makes a good paper weight! Both cats are pretty.