Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:03:03 -0500
From: Miguel Sanchez <miguel_sanchez55@hotmail.com>
Subject: 3 Cats and a Boy, Ch 1

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and that of love. Any resemblance to
actual places, events, or persons, living or dead, is purely
coincidental. This story may contain erotic and/or sexually explicit
behavior between an adult and a teen. If it is illegal for you to, or you
find this sort of work offensive, don't download or read it!

The people in this story do not use protection because diseases don't exist
here. However, in our world they do so please use caution and protection.

Miguel Sanchez's work is fully protected under the United States Copyright
Laws © 17 USC §§ 101, 102 (a), 302 (a) All Rights Reserved. Placing or
posting this story on any website, or distribution of this work in any way
(in whole or in part) without the expressed written consent of the author
is strictly prohibited. Any and all copyright infringements will be
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Author's Note: References to Dream World and Tiger Island can be found
here:

http://www.dreamworld.com.au/content/standard3.asp?name=TigerIsland

You can write me at: miguel_sanchez55@hotmail.com

I hope you enjoy this story.  Miguel Sanchez

Copyright Miguel Sanchez 2007

3 Cats and a Boy

Chapter 1

It was just the start of another day at Bengal Tiger Rescue Haven. Hi, I'm
Mike Hollander and I own and operate this rescue center for Bengal
tigers. When I was a kid I had the opportunity of a life time to go to
Australia and to see the tigers at Dreamworld. Because of that, it helped
me make up my mind as to what I wanted to do with my life. I studied hard
and graduated high school when I was 17 then threw myself into my college
studies so I had my Bachelor of Science degree in 3 years. I went on to Vet
School and at 24 I was ready to take on the world, or so I thought.

My parents died when I was 20 and I had to take out several student loans
so I could finish my education. By the time I'd graduated, I was quite deep
in debt. I did my internship and that barely paid me enough to live on. I
decided on taking a few dollars each payday and play the Powerball
lottery. After 6 months, the most I'd ever won was enough to pay my rent
once.

I was looking for better work when I got a letter from a lawyer in
Florida. It came certified so on my way to work I stopped off at the post
office and picked it up. I got back out to my car and decided to wait until
I got home to open it. All the way to work that letter kept nagging at
me. I didn't know anyone in Florida and as I was growing up I couldn't ever
remembering visiting any family there when I was a kid.

I pulled into the parking lot and grabbed the letter then hurried inside. I
had 15 minutes before the office opened so I ripped open the letter.

Dear Mr. Hollander, My name is Jeffry Morris and I'm handling the estate of
Mr. James Cromwell. Mr. Cromwell has named you sole beneficiary of his
estate. Mr. Cromwell has significant property holdings in Florida. I would
like to meet with you at your earliest possible convenience.

Sincerely, Jeffery Morris, Esquire

I thought back to my younger years and remembered the times I went camping
with my Dad. I remembered Mr. Cromwell and I knew they were close. I picked
up the phone and called Mr. Morris. He gave me some brief information on
the will and what it entailed. He told me it would be worth my while to get
to his office as soon as I could. He was able to wire me some funds so I
could make it there so two days later I was off to sunny Florida.

I met Mr. Morris and he took me out to Mr. Cromwell's property. We pulled
off the main highway onto a 2 lane unmarked road. After driving about a
mile, we came to a huge gate. He pushed a button and the gate opened. I was
staring at the most beautiful land I'd ever seen. Mr. Morris got out of his
car and handed me another letter.

Dear Mike, I don't know where to begin but your Dad and I were a lot more
than friends. Oh, we were that alright and he was the best friend a person
could have. Your Dad and I were lovers. I knew he was married and yes, he
loved your mother with every fiber of his being and the best I could do was
share his love but I was happy with that.

I had you set up as the sole beneficiary of my estate the day your Dad and
I made love the first time and he was aware of this. Mr. Morris has been my
lawyer for a long time and you were not to get this until one of two things
happened. Either your parents are dead and now, I am or I've been dead and
your Dad has just passed away.

This property is quite extensive. There is 5,000 acres here along with a
house that made the one you and your parents had look small. I was never
married Mike and you were like the son I could never have. Your Dad told me
about your dream and this property will let you realize it. There is a tidy
amount of cash that comes with the estate and Mr. Morris has already been
paid.

I hope this helps your dream come true.

All my love, James Cromwell

I leaned against the fence and looked around at my property. "Are you
alright Mr. Hollander?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just trying to let all this sink in,
that's all. In the letter, he said there was a tidy amount of cash?"

Mr. Morris reached into his pocket and handed me a small bank book. I
opened it and I almost choked. "It's all there Mike. I confirmed the
balance this morning before you arrived. There is just over $500,000 in the
bank. In addition Mr. Cromwell was a shrewd investor and has a rather tidy
portfolio which has also been transferred into your name.  You also needn't
worry about the taxes as they also have been taken care of. He also told me
you like big cats."

I was trying to see the house but my mind was elsewhere. "Huh, yeah, I love
big cats. More to the point, I love the Bengal tiger. It is a magnificent
creature and is highly endangered."

He took me up to the house and the closer we got, the bigger it
got. Mr. Morris saw the look on my face. "Gorgeous piece of property, isn't
it?"

It was something right out of Southern Living magazine. It had a huge
wraparound front porch and had at least 3 floors on it. It reminded me of
my grandparent's home. Off the house was a separate building that looked
like a 3 car garage. "What's in there?"

We stopped in front of the garage and he handed me the key. I opened the
side door and walked in turning on the lights. There was what appeared to
be a truck of some kind under a cover. I walked over and removed the cover
and there was a 2 year old GMC Yukon. I opened the door and heard the
buzzer going off. I looked inside and there were the keys in the
ignition. I hopped inside and it started and it had less than 15,000 miles
on it. I shut it off then went outside. Mr. Morris was waiting for me on
the front porch. "Come on Mike."

I reached the top step on the porch just as Mr. Morris opened the front
door and handed me those keys too. I walked up to the door and I instantly
fell in love with the house. It was a classic old house with that old house
smell, you know, that mothball smell but it also had the modern amenities.

I walked around the house and it was like being back at home. There were
photos of me and my Dad when I was a kid on the mantle above the
fireplace. I found the master bedroom and even though it was an old house,
Mr. Cromwell added a nice bathroom onto the room. Out back was a swimming
pool with a huge deck around it. "What do I have to do? Are there papers or
anything like that to sign?"

Mr. Morris shook his head. "Everything has been taken care of. The house
and all the property is in your name. The vehicle has been titled in your
name and it's already insured. Papers are ready at the bank for you to sign
then you'll have access to your money and investments."

He led me through a door I hadn't noticed. When I stepped inside, there was
a furnished vet's office complete with a small waiting area and several
treatment rooms. "I'll be damned; he even set me up so I can open a
practice."

He nodded his head then we went around and made sure the place was
secured. Before I left, Mr. Morris took me by the bank so I could sign the
necessary papers and open my checking account. I had to return home to
North Carolina and take care of some details, pack what few belongings I
had and then come back to my new home. I knew my car was on its last legs
and it barely made the trip down here. "Can I use the Yukon?"

He laughed nodding his head. "It's your truck Mike. It will probably like
the good run."

When I was gone, I'd forgotten about my lottery tickets. They were in their
usual spot so I went online to check my numbers. Each week I would get 5
tickets. I'd play 1 set of numbers then let the computer randomly pick
numbers for my other 4 plays. When I saw the numbers I'd picked, I knew
right away those hadn't won anything. The second and third set each got me
a free play but the 4th play hit pay dirt. The numbers had been drawn
several days ago and Lottery Headquarters was saying there was only 1
winning ticket.

The next day I made the call and found out the Jackpot was just over 250
million dollars. It took about 6 weeks for everything to be processed and
after taxes I would be getting, give or take, around 3 million dollars a
year.

How I came across my furry family was quite by accident. I had heard there
was a traveling show that had 2 adult Bengal tigers. One was orange but the
male was white. Having money had its advantages. I made a few phone calls
and had a huge enclosure built to house the cats then I went to work
tracking this show down. As fortune would have it, they were coming through
my town. Next thing I did was contact a wholesale meat company and buy two
commercial size refrigerators. Feeding tigers required a lot of meat. I
spent $50,000 on good quality meat that would be good for the cats. I
didn't need prime cuts because they didn't care if they got bottom round or
fillet mignon as long as it filled their bellies.

When I met the owners, the cats were in sad shape. Their cages were small
and both were under weight. They were just setting up their "show" when I
arrived. "Nice cats you have there."

I walked up to their pen a young white male approached. Now this was
unexpected. Instead of 2 cats, there were 3. "I'd be careful, if I were
you," the man replied as he came over carrying what appeared to be a shock
stick.

I place my hand flat against the cage and the young cub licked it while the
mother watched very closely from her cage. "When did you last feed them?"

"Who the hell are you?" The man asked pointing that stick at me. "Are you
some animal rights activist?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm just someone who loves and admires the beauty of
the Bengal tiger and what I see here is deplorable. These cats are under
weight and appear to be ill."

The ass wipe started getting pompous on me. "Do you know what it costs to
feed these things? I barely make enough to live on much less take care of
them."

`Humm,' I thought. `This might be the chance of a life time.'

I walked over to the next cage and looked at the next one. This one was an
orange Bengal and when I approached, it stood up on its hind feet. I saw
right away this cat was a female. I put my hand up and she licked it like a
domestic cat looking for attention. She dropped down onto her 4 feet then
butted her head against the cage. I stuck my finger in and scratched her
head and I could hear her start her low growl purr.

The last cage held the most majestic cat I'd ever seen. I could tell this
was a male and probably the father to the young male I saw in the first
cage. He appeared just as friendly as the other two. He was by far, in the
worst condition of the three and I knew these cats had to be saved from
these "people."

I walked around and looked at their belongings. "You say you're having a
hard time making ends meet with them?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah and if I had had any idea of what it would take,
I'd have let the person I got them from put them down."

I cringed when I heard that. "I'll tell ya what then. How about I make you
a little business offer? I'm in a better position to care for these
creatures. The big male is very sick and the other two aren't much
better. I'll give you $75,000 for all three."

As soon as I said that, his eyes lit up. "Gee I don't know, they're like my
children."

"Children that you can't afford to properly care for."

He thought for a minute. "Alright mister, you have yourself a deal."

I had him where I wanted him now. "My place is just a few miles down the
road and I have an enclosure built to house them. Follow me and we can
finish the deal."

At this point, all he was seeing was dollar signs and nothing else. He had
to secure up a few things so while he was doing that, I quickly wrote down
the license plate numbers on his truck and trailer. After I got the cats
home and safe, I would have the authorities deal with him.

Once everything was secured, we were ready to leave. He followed me to my
place and he was in awe of my property. I had him back up to the pen while
I opened the door. "Nice place you got here mister. You know, I don't think
I can let all three of these babies go for just $75,000."

I kinda figured he'd try something like that so I had to play my ace in the
hole. "Look bud, I have your plate numbers and I seriously doubt you have
the permits needed to run that little side show of yours. In this state,
animal cruelty is a felony."

He started to squirm when I said that. "You know how to drive a hard
bargain mister, $75,000 it is."

I went around to the cage of the big male and put my hand up so he could
lick it. The man had a chain for a lead and his stick. "Put that damn thing
away."

He unlocked the cage and I took the chain so I could wrap it around the
cat's neck like a collar. I gently cracked opened the cage door as the big
cat laid down. I scratched his head then slowly wrapped the chain around
his neck and secured it. I opened the cage door the rest of the way and he
looked around then hopped down. I could see the man backing up as the cat
might have had ideas about having him for a snack. "Ah, you remember me
Sultan, don't you?"

The cat stopped as it felt the chain tug lightly at his neck. I led him
around the yard for a few minutes then showed him over to his new home. I
opened the gate for him. He stopped and sniffed around some before
entering. I followed him inside then closed the gate before taking the
chain off. He allowed me to pet him and even rolled onto his back so I
could rub his stomach. After getting the other two out, I gave the guy his
money and he quickly left.

I knew the big cats were hungry so I went into the garage and cut up some
meat for them. I'd taken a 55 gallon drum and cut it in half then put it in
their enclosure so they had a constant water supply. I had a connection put
on it so all I had to do was hook up the water hose to it so I could keep
it full.

I cut up about 30 pounds of meat and divided it up into 3 large bowls and
set it in the back of the quad I found. Mr. Cromwell thought of everything
but with a place this size, you needed a practical way to get around. When
I got close to their cage, they got the scent of their food and I could
tell they were starving. I knew that they could go into a feeding frenzy so
I took one of the chain leads then put it around Sultan so I could move him
well away from the others. I let mother and cub stay together. Once that
was done, I started feeding them. They quickly went through the meat and
were still hungry but I didn't want them eating until they got sick. I
fixed them another 5 pounds and that seemed to satisfy their apatite.

It took me a couple weeks to get their weight up and to gain their trust so
they would let me examine them. Except for some skin problems, they were
healthy. Giving them their inoculations was a real trick. I couldn't reach
to pat their head and pinch a fold of skin to insert the needle but they
took it all in stride.

I called a fencing contractor out to put up some fences around half of the
property. They got so comfortable I could let them out and they'd roam
around but always knew where to return when it was time to eat and they'd
be put in their pen after their dinner time feeding.

I had built a walk way from their pen so they could come inside the house
and also had a shelter built for them so they could get out of the heat.

This was about 18 months ago.

Today started much like every other with Rajah standing on my bed licking
me telling me it was time for their breakfast. Have you ever been licked by
a 150 pound tiger? I'm here to tell you now, it's not like getting a kiss
from your pet tabby, their tongues hurt. "Alright Rajah, I'm awake now
MOVE!"

I got up and made it to the bathroom and did my business while Raj was
glaring at me. "Hey get over it. The more you stare, the longer you wait."

Now you'd have thought I just smacked him across the nose with a rolled up
newspaper because he just turned and sulked out of the bedroom. I stopped
in the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee then went out to the
garage and cut up some meat for their morning meal. When I got over to
their cage, Rajah and Sultan were out pacing. "Hi boys, where's the lady?"

I thought it odd Chaka wasn't pacing with the others. I banged on her bowl
and she finally came walking out. I put their food in the cage then stood
back and watched them eat. Chaka ate then took a few pieces in her mouth
then went back into the enclosure. If I didn't know better, I would have
sworn she had cubs in there.

What was strange about all this was I didn't have my usual company
throughout the day. I have a small but thriving vet practice and Raj always
seems to make at least one appearance but on this day, he hadn't. At lunch
time, they were all in their cage and not out wandering the fenced in
compound. I don't normally give them that much at lunch because they aren't
truly active cats like tigers in the wild are.

When I pulled up on the quad Sultan was out but that was it. Normally Rajah
would be pacing back and forth but he wasn't and he didn't come when I
called him. I shut the quad off then entered the cage. Sultan walked around
me and acted like he was going to keep me from entering the shelter. "Easy
boy, it's ok."

I reached down and scratched the big white cat's head and he stood by my
side. The only way in was a make shift door I'd put up when Rajah was a
cub, this way they could come and go easily. I got down and made my way
inside and got the surprise of my life.

There curled up in between Raj and Chaka was a boy. Raj raised his head and
I heard a low growl. "Easy boy," I said as I eased closer to the huddled
mass.

Chaka raised her head and started at me. For the first time since I'd
gotten them, I was scared. It appeared that Chaka had taken this child as
if it were a cub. I eased closer then reached my hand out and rubbed the
female's head. "It's alright girl, I won't hurt him."

Meanwhile, Sultan was letting me know that he was hungry and wanted to be
fed. He came inside and gently pawed my shoulder as if to say, "Hey man,
I'm hungry and lunch is out there."

I decided virtue was the better part of valor so I decided to bring the
food in. I started to move towards the door when Raj growled at me. Well,
Sultan didn't take kindly to this and cuffed his son across the head. Raj
backed up then sat down as I eased out and got their food. As soon as I
brought the bowls in, Raj was out eagerly awaiting his lunch.

I took Chaka's food inside and gently slid it over to her not making any
sudden moves or noises that would disturb the boy. As soon as she got a
whiff of the meat I had her complete attention. "Here you go girl," I said
in a soft voice as I eased over.

I put a piece in my hand then held it out flat. Using her rough tongue, she
licked it right out of my hand. I slid the bowl over closer so she could
eat. As she reached out to pick up a piece of meat, the sleeping child
stirred then sat upright. It took him a few seconds to focus then he
appeared to get scared. "Who are you?"

To be continued