Cat

This afternoon, as we were taking out yet another recycle bin full of papers, etc. from the study makeover, a small, sweet Calico cat was sitting on the roof of our storage shed. S/he (don't know what it is yet - haven't gotten close enough to look) was pretty lovey - let me scratch his head and was lying down with glee at the petting.

I raced upstairs to get some cat food (since our two cats live upstairs, that's where all the cat supplies are) and raced back downstairs to find a small bowl. As soon as s/he smelled the food, s/he raced down from the roof and braved the dog - THAT'S how hungry s/he was - it braved a DOG to come down and eat. It was shaking as it ate - almost too excited or afraid the food would be taken by another animal. It gulped down a full packet of food - the same packet of food that feeds our two very large cats each night. Poor thing. It is skin and bones. And cute as a button.

We just returned from dinner and the cat was waiting in the front yard for us. J. is not pleased. I asked him, earnestly 'just what is your problem with me feeding a stray cat'? He said 'I don't want another pet to feed'. To which I replied 'J., I'm just feeding it. I'm not bringing it inside, getting it de-clawed and adding a third feline to our home [and if you disapprove of declawing cats, I understand. I didn't want to either - but I didn't want the banisters of our staircase used as a scratching post either]. I'm just feeding a cat who appears to be on the verge of starvation. I don't see what the harm is in that'. I brought down some dry catfood and put it in a bowl on the front porch - and s/he went after it as foraciously as s/he'd eaten the moist food only 3 hours earlier.

I don't know where this cat's family is or where they went. There are a lot of foreclosed, vacant homes in our neighborhood and perhaps s/he was left behind in a quick move. I don't know. S/he is clearly a pet - too tame and too willing to be petted to be a feral stray. S/he's had a family and a home and plenty to eat - and now appears to not have those things.

And as long as I'm able, I'm going to offer food - and a place to hang out. I'm not taking it in or planning to add it to our home's pet inventory. But I have food and a heart and I'm not letting it starve. Not on my watch.

Is s/he going to be annoying? Possibly. But if all it wants is food and water and an occasional petting, I'm good with that. S/he's clean and looks healthy - just skinny and in need of food and companionship. I can do that. WE can do that. And we're going to.

My husband has a heart of gold. He'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it...and he loves our animals. He really does. I know that he's thinking 'I know this cat is going to end up in our home'. And I just have to reassure him 'no, s/he will not. We don't want more pets. We've agreed that the pets we have now are the last pets we will have - we want to travel and be able to go wherever we want to when we retire, so adding pets is NOT part of that plan. I'm not changing the plan. I'm just altering it to include 'feeding a stray cat'. That's all.

I feel sorry for it - I think it's been abandoned by a family and I don't want it to starve to death. My heart just can't take that.

For now, I'm calling it 'Cali'. Short for calico.