His only friend for fifteen year. Brought him out to me when he started moving around the country bombing places and couldn't look after him as decent as he thought he needed. His only friend in the world now.
One of the main ironies of the play is that someone as psychotic as Padraic is as loving and tender with his cat. Wee Thomas is his heart and soul. He thinks absolutely nothing of bombing buildings and killing people who have loved ones, and are innocent bystanders to his war against the government, and against decency in general, but he does not want his actions to negatively impact his cat. He knows that there is a right way and a wrong way to look after an animal and he is a solicitous and conscientious pet owner who wants the best for his cat. It seems strange that were he to go to an animal shelter and apply to adopt a cat he would be one of the best feline parents that any adoptable cat could hope for, despite the fact that he is a thoroughly evil and reprehensible human being in every other aspect of his life.
This conversation also sets the tone for the actions of Donny and Davey for the rest of the play; if they were not so frightened of Padraic's anger about Wee Thomas then they would not have come up with such a boneheaded plan to replace him.
You'll make me want to give you some serious bother and not just be tinkering with you.
James has used a curse word that Padraic is offended by and he warns James that if he does this again he will do him some serious damage. James asks if ripping out someone's toenails is mere tinkering and Padraic confirms that it is. This goes to show that Padraic is actually insane. James is a drug dealer and a criminal but no more likely to rip out someone's toenails that someone who never broke the law before. He is frightened of Padraic and also frightened of the fact that his sadism seems to have no limits. Padraic's appetite for causing others pain knows no limits either, and he has a seemingly endless imagination when it comes to thinking of ways in which he can torture someone.
