A Tale of Two Kitties
Prompt: Pets can be a breath of fresh air, simply because they love us just as we are. Enter a picture or a sketch of your pet and describe in your journal how you found your little darling. What attracted you to him or her in the first place? How this pet have change your life?
I’ve always loved cats. I began bringing them home when I was about 8. Almost all of my cats were strays. One was so tiny and weak, my parents were sure she would die. I fed her milk with an eye dropper and she hung on and lived. I called her Pepper and she lived almost 20 years. Once I was an adult, people either gave me cats & kittens to adopt or, just once, I bought one.
When we moved from Maryland to New York, we had to give up our pets because the landlord wouldn’t let us keep them. It was heart-breaking although Paddywack the cat was more Billy’s pet than mine. I always had animals around so this was a major change for me.
Cats are terrific pets. It’s easy to train them to use the litterbox. All you have to do is put the little guy into a box, “scratch” the litter with her front paws and that’s that. The only thing better would be to teach the kitty to sit on the toilet and then flush it. You keep them fed and watered and they’re very low maintenance. Yet, they can be wonderful companions … if they are in the mood. When they are, there is nothing like the feel of a purring cat’s paws kneading your stomach while you scratch her ears.
My first husband’s sudden death had hit us hard. As the children and I struggled to cope with the overwhelming grief, a perceptive friend of mine called and asked if we could possibly adopt a cat, an adult rescue. I hesitated a moment, knowing that our landlords did not want us to have pets of any kind. We’d been forced to give up our own cat and dog the year before when we’d moved from Maryland to New York. We were fortunate to find two families that were willing to adopt our pets. But how could I turn this one away? I said yes, deciding I would deal with the cat-in-the-house issue with the landlords at another time.
My friend came over that night with the cat and her present owner. The young woman was heartbroken to have to give up her pet. She was facing a situation similar to ours. Her new landlord would not allow her to keep pets. She told us that the cat was very shy and brought her out of the crate.
Amber was a beautiful long haired cat with gold, brown, and black markings. She has adorable tufts of fur between her toes. I only got a moment’s glimpse of her before she ran behind the couch to hide. The kids were disappointed that she disappeared so quickly but I explained that cats hide when they are in a new place and Amber would come out eventually.
It took a week. She hid under an old record cabinet we had, looking pitifully terrified. Finally she began to come out and walk around but she ran from us all the time. Heidi was especially disappointed. She’d been wanting to cuddle Amber. “Oh, poor, poor me. I need to be hugged and cuddled”, she appears to say. Yet, she doesn't want any of her human pets to pick her up or cuddle her. She was a frustrating sort of pet, pretty and adorable but oh so distant.
We went to stay with Rich’s father and stepmother over the Christmas holidays. Alberta has five or six cats, one of which warmed right up to Heidi. Her face lit up and she was happy and animated for the first time in months. She began to ask me if we could adopt another cat, one just for her. I hesitated, remembering the landlord grudgingly giving us permission to have Amber. Hey, too bad, I thought, this kid <i>needs</i> her own cat.
See, I remember how it feels to be sad, to cry and to pick your cat up and cuddle her. Some cats really warm up to people and they’ll respond lovingly. One of my cats would come when I called. When I slept, the last thing I remembered was how nice it felt to have my cat curled up in the groove between my shoulder and my neck. As much as I loved Amber this was still a case of rescuing her and taking care of her. She didn’t bond with anyone.
After we got back, we talked about it and decided we’d like to rescue another adult cat. I can’t explain exactly why except to say that we’d sort of been abandoned too – unwillingly, yes, but we were still left alone. Heidi and I visited a couple of shelters and a PetSmart. The store had grown cats to adopt out, a male and a female. They were siblings and the idea was to try and adopt them out together. We couldn’t do that, though, because we already had one at home and I wasn’t going to part with Amber.
I had a burst of inspiration to try an animal shelter on the north shore. I called on my cell phone to get directions and learned that there were several adult cats that needed to be adopted. On the way there, I told Heidi she should take time and visit with each cat. This way we could choose a cat according to personality. And so Heidi held and petted each of the cats before deciding that she wanted the small tuxedo, the friendliest and most curious of all.
There’s a small fee when you adopt a pet from the shelter, hardly enough to raise an eyebrow. As I paid, the animal control officer took out a card and read me information at our new kitty. He was between 1 and 2 years old, was spayed, and had been an outdoor cat. Her name … Mouse.
A cat named Mouse?
“Do you know why her owner didn’t want her anymore?” I asked suddenly.
The man answered, “It’s funny, he was just left here yesterday. The owner’s husband brought her down. I’m not sure why.” He began scanning the card and all of a sudden I knew why.
“His wife died, didn’t he?”
The officer was very surprised. “How did you know that?”
“I think maybe we were led here,” I answered.
Mouse was a lot of fun. He warmed up easier to people and when he was in the mood, he’d jump on your lap or on the bed to be petted. He loved to play and would chase bathrobe ties for hours if he could. He’s also prodded Amber into being more active. The two of them chase each other all around the house. :)
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