They mostly come to us as strays, or as 'drop-offs' by people getting rid of kittens, etc. In all cases, we've taken them in and given them a loving home...and never regretted doing so, because cats are very special, in my opinion.
I think if I was a cat, I might like to be part of a story like the one that follows:
One of our most recent cats, called "Matthew" (we call him Mattie), came to us in a most bizarre but also a most profoundly 'spiritual' way.
You see, we had lost one of our two cats about a year earlier...she died in our house one Christmas morning. Not a very nice Christmas gift, even though we knew she was already 'terminally ill' and would die from that sooner or later.
We decided we'd wait before even thinking about another cat (we often like to have two, so they have each other). After several months, "Minky" (our 2nd cat at that time) seemed to be showing signs of 'loneliness', so we thought it might be time to think about getting another cat.
Both my wife and I decided we'd like to wait until a cat came to us, rather than us going somewhere to get one (humane society, etc.).
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One day at my work place, a colleague responsible for "site pest control" (etc.) got a call on his two-way radio that "a cat was stuck in a fence on the property". I heard the call come in, so I accompanied him in his vehicle to the far end of the large industrial complex where the cat was allegedly stuck.
Some people who were out for their "walking-lunch" had heard what sounded like a cat "meowing", and some had apparently seen a cat with its head stuck in the diamond-shaped openings of the chain-link fencing which surrounded the complex.
Sure enough, we found it...and it was clear it had been there for some time. It was stuck just at ground level, and it had obviously been struggling, because the ground was pretty well dug up where it had been scratching, as it tried to become free. Its voice was already quite hoarse from so much crying out.
I attempted to maneuver the cat's head so I could remove it from the diamond-shaped opening, but I was afraid I'd harm the tiny thing (by now, of course, I realized it was a kitten, not an adult cat like I expected). After trying to free its head, I realized I couldn't do that without causing harm, so I asked my colleague to go get some bolt-cutters so I could cut the wire fence.
While he was gone, I did my best to just keep the kitten as comfortable as possible, and tried to reassure it ("him", we'd later learn) that things would be alright.
When he returned, I snipped the wires and freed the kitten. When I held it to my chest, it seemed to "melt" into me, and all I could say was "OK, I'm taking this little guy home with me" (again, I didn't know it was male; later that day our vet let us know it was).
We traveled to where my own van was parked, and I placed the kitten inside. Then, I rushed into our office area and told my boss I was leaving for the day because I had to take care of my new kitten. My boss (a woman) was quite understanding, and even said that she was thinking about getting a kitten. I (reluctantly) even offered the kitten to her, but she declined...for which I am now grateful!
When I got home, I had to coax the little kitten from under my van seat, to get it out of the van. I brought him inside, and Minky was initially quite interested, but when I let Mattie down on the floor and watched as he sought to befriend Minky, she backed away and hissed at first (normal, I guess).
We decided to call this tiny bundle of fur "Matthew", which means "gift from God", because that's how we feel he came to us. We had been "wishing" (even praying?) for another cat to come to us...and he did...even if it was under some rather sad circumstances.
Mattie (above, right) and Minky (above, left) became very good friends after a while, and had a few good years together, until Minky became very sick and had to be put down (we had her at least 16 years!).
We now have Mattie (above, left) and another 'found rescue' we named "MaisieMae" (above, right); a small, black (and some white) female, with obvious nervousness issues; she initially scratched and bit us a fair amount...but we're working things out alright with her too. Just takes time...and lots of love, of course.
Just sayin'...
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| Mattie (left) and Minky toastin' their tummies by the fire! |
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