Christopher and Oliver

Christopher and his cat Oliver

Christopher got his four month old kitten Oliver from a guy at a Conoco gas station in Alabama. This was a couple of months after Christopher’s dog died. Christopher has traveled across the country several times and has now been in Boulder for a couple of months. He sleeps in a bus and showers at a friends house. He just got a janitorial job cleaning a locker room.

He loves to hike with Oliver and Oliver sits on Christopher’s shoulders as is apparent by the noticeable scratches that he pointed out. Christopher is hoping to make a platform to go on his back so Oliver can sit up there and be shaded while they hike.

Christopher is re-reading the Alchemist for the second time, but only appreciating it for the first time. He doesn’t verbally ask people for anything. He just hangs out and reads with his box that says “Supplies to Survive”.

Several people stopped by to pet Oliver and Christopher was very friendly and obliged. He gave me an abalone shell and told my friend Kathy and I that he loved us. He was very loving and friendly.

I asked Christopher what it meant to him to have a pet while he is homeless, but I backed up and asked first if he was actually homeless. He said:

“I’m not homeless, I just don’t have a place to live. My home is wherever I am. I’m proud to say I am 30 years old and not in debt, having recently explained that to my mother. I like having a cat. It provides me with unconditional love and companionship”.

Christopher and his cat Oliver on Broadway and Pearl, Boulder, Colorado