A longtime cat lover, Grimes had Siamese in the past, including one that lived to age 22. This time, when he and his wife decided to get a cat, they visited the humane societies. First was the Jacksonville Humane Society, Grimes says, because they have so many animals up there. "We must have looked at 100 to 150 cats," and nothing clicked.

The next stop was the St. Augustine Humane Society, but when they got there it was 10 minutes to closing time. "We saw him in the cage," Grimes recalls of his love affair with Sylvester, and "he came right up to us." That did it. In the space of 10 minutes, Sylvester had found himself a new family.

Grimes is determined that Sylvester is destined for glory. As a matter of fact the feline has already been featured on WJXT Channel 4 morning show. And he's been entered in a contest listed in Cat Fancy magazine. For that, Grimes made a video of Sylvester' bag of tricks -- a paw-to-hand shake, opening of a closet door to get a treat and rolling over to play dead, at the click of a finger. Terry Coon, a co-worker of Cinda's, provided the musical background and sound effects for the tape which was sent in to the contest the end of December.

In the meantime, Grimes basks in the glory of his beloved cat, marveling at how Sylvester obeys commands -- well, most of the time. On the day of the interview, Sylvester showed his stuff BEFORE photographer Peter Willott appeared on the scene. Willott, a cat lover with five cats in the family just smelled too good. As a result Sylvester, like any self-respecting feline would do, did what he darn well pleased. That included sniffing Willott and ignoring commands from Grimes.

DAVID GRIMES and Sylvester have a heart-to-heart 'father-and-cat' discussion about  Sylvester's reluctance to perform his tricks for the photographer. By PETER WILLOTT, Staff,  St. Augustine Record

"He's a camera cat, I guess," Grimes said after being ignored by his beloved pet. But Sylvester's reluctance to pay attention to Grimes's commands didn't damped Grimes's enthusiasm for his pet. Asked why cats are so special to him, Grimes said, "cats are more lovable or seem that way to me."

After thinking about it over the weekend, Grimes, the following Monday, had a lot more to say about felines, explaining "I have had sufficient time to think about your question: why do I like cats?" Cats, Grimes said, "don't get caught up in serious things" like the war in Iraq, Osama Bin Laden and "that almost every day a soldier dies somewhere. They live for the moment for the most part." Cats think, he said, "that everything that God made or man has made was made for the cat to play with."

Not that Grimes would like to be a cat, he points out, although, "maybe every now and then I would love to be able to turn the switch off in my head and enjoy the fun part of acting carefree like a cat. Nothing but play whenever I want to and sleep whenever I want to. Oh yes, eat, drink and be merry also."

But, on the serious side, Grimes says he has a message in sharing the story of his love affair with his cat. When he and his wife chose Sylvester, Grimes said, "it was like  Sylvester had the winning lottery ticket and so did we. He went from being behind bars to a beautiful home overlooking the St. Johns River." Now, says Grimes, "Sylvester had his own maid and butler, not to mention a chauffer-driven limousine. "He plays as long as he wants to night or day. He always has something to eat every single day." And, "his maid and butler really love him."

If, said Grimes, " Sylvester's tricks somehow raise awareness at all for any good cause, I want it to be to promote the local humane society. "Then maybe everyone can have a smart dog or cat just like Sylvester. You will never know till you try."

To watch the video of Sylvester the wonder cat, go to www.staugustine.com .
To read the entire story, go to www.staugustine.com . Search for Sylvester the cat.

By ANNE C. HEYMEN
Features Editor
St. Augustine Record                                                                                                                                    Feb. 2004