old tv special

[Gena]

so, there was this movie that was on once a year when i was really little (early 70's maybe). it involved a little african american boy who befriends a stray cat. he sometimes works for an old man ( i think in a deli or some sort of outdoor vendor)
he and the man become friends mostly due to the cat. the cat gets hit by a car and the man gives the boy a kitten to take care of. there was some kind of lesson to be learned, i'm sure. i live in ny, and maybe this movie was regional, i don't know.
does it ring any sort of bell with anyone?
oh yeah and either the boys name or the cats consisted of initials .
thanks

[cheaptrickrocks]

I found it. It's a movie called JT from 1969.

www.imdb.com/title/tt0158681/

[gena]

cheap trick does rock and so do you!
thanks so much (by the way how did you come up with that info?)

[cheaptrickrocks]

Your welcome. I seem to remember the title of the movie had initials in it. I kept thinking it was called TJ. I went to imdb.com and looked it up with no luck. Then I for some reason I thought about the young boy actor and Kevin Hooks popped into my head. So I looked him up and found the name of the movie. I vaguely remember that movie because it was so long ago. I only part I do remember is that the cat either dies or gets killed. I was only 8 at the time and it upset me because I had a cat. I've always hated movies where animals got hurt or killed.

[gena]

As a point of interest to anyone who remembers this movie -
it is now up on ebay. there are over 21 bids and the price is up to 64 dollars!