The naming of cats is a difficult matter. It isn't just one of your holiday games. You may think at first I'm mad as a hatter. When I tell you a cat must have three different names...T.S. Eliot This quote was a template, but much like how we met Buddy, it was a happy coincidence. One day, this beautiful yellow tabby appeared on our doorstep. My dad, being big of heart, started feeding him. Soon, this cat would appear daily for some food. Then one day, he let himself in with the doggie door used by our dog, Tiger. From then on, he was our cat. We named him Buster La-La. This was his first name. He quickly became a member of the family. My parents, who had decided not to have any more animals after our previous cat, Shadow and dog, Snickers both died within a year of each other, immediately warmed up to Buster La-La. Buster showed himself to be a real fighter, as many cats in the neighborhood met with unfortunate accidents if they ever tried to come on our property. It was for this reason that we were so surprised when Buster became friends with a black and white cat from next door. The next door cat's name happened to be Buster, so we changed Buster La-La to Buddy. This was his second name. Not long after this, we decided to move. Buddy's home was the streets of Culver City, but we couldn't just leave him where we found him. We brought him with us to Torrance. Almost immediately, he started picking fights with the vicious band of racoons that were terrorizing the other neighbor cats. He never won the fights, but he held his own against a feral animal almost twice his size. We chose to keep him in at night from then on. Then he started to weaken. He seemed not to be able to climb up onto the furniture to reach his food. We'd placed it up there to keep the dog from eating it. So several times a day, he'd meow and we'd pick him up and place him next to his food. That continued until weeks later when my parents and I were talking in the living room. Suddenly, we watched as Buddy jumped up to his food and started eating. We realized at that point that he'd had us trained this whole time. Such a clever cat. Up until the very end, he showed his love through every cuddle, purr and meow. In death, he has become memories of a beloved Friend. This is his third name. You will be missed, Buster / Buddy / Friend.