And Then You Are a Cat Lady
Woman in the Middle | January 28, 2017I have decided it is a slippery slope when it comes to cats. One day you just have one pet cat, the next you are a certifiable cat lady. I feel I am on the slippery slope between the two at the moment, and thank goodness I have a family to reign me in. But my soft heart certainly makes me want to help any creature in need and there ALWAYS seems to be cats in need. Sigh…..
The good news is I am trying to do my part to help cats in need, without actually taking a couple dozen more into my home. There is a cat rescue just minutes from my house. Eldest Daughter and I go once a week to meet the cats and gather info on them, then I write up descriptions about each little ball of delightful fur for the rescue’s website. I am working on the premise that each cat that gets adopted opens a spot for a cat in need.
Of course, there is a certain amount of risk in going to hang out with 80 or so adorable cats. Yesterday when Eldest and I went, Eldest ended up picking up an orange tabby named Croc. He was a love bug! He loved to be held, and purred like a motorboat in pleasure. When Eldest brought him over to me, he was ready to leap out of her arms into mind. Such a cutie! No, we didn’t bring him home. I have vowed no more new animals to disrupt the elderly cat and dog in our house. I would be willing to add another cat after they go to the other place, but not right now.
Then there is the situation in my own front yard. Double sigh. Due to the proximity of many coyotes, we don’t have an over abundance of outdoor cats in our neighborhood. We have seen only a handful of savvy, coyote avoiding felines in the 6+ years we have lived here. They have all looked like someone’s cat, decently fed, etc….So Eldest names them all for the fun of it and we see them in the yard on occasion, and otherwise we leave then alone and they leave us along. Then this one cat appeared….
It is a little heard to not notice a cat who is covered in long white fur. At first, we saw it only occasionally, at a distance. Then it started sleeping every once in a while in our front yard somewhere. But it always jumped up and ran if we happened by. We didn’t even try to get close, as it seemed to be feral. But we are having a hard winter, with cold and rain, and I began to feel very very sorry for this fluffy dirty white thing with a squinty eye, a mangled ear, and the best resting b**** face you could ever ask for in a cat.
I began to feed it. It started coming around more. It will actually stay within 4-6 feet of us now when we toss down the food. Because it is white, we can really see any issues it has. There are ear mites. There is that ear. There is that squinty eye. And then, yesterday, we saw a bloody scratch on its face.
Folks, I am in agony here. I can’t stand to see an animal in discomfort, let alone the mess that this cat is. I remind myself that I am making these cold and rainy days and nights better by offering food. I hope it will eventually let us near enough to better access its health.
Meanwhile, my family is sizing me up for a crazy cat lady shirt, because no matter how hard they try to keep me from it, they can see the inevitable day when I will meet the criteria for being called a “crazy cat lady.”
Nope. You are not there yet. Can you catch and foster him until someone adopts him? Being kind to animals does not make you crazy. Keeping 80 in your house does.
No matter how sorry I feel for cats, I would never end up with 80! But I hope to one day catch the white cat and help him live a better life.
Dear Cat Lady,
I am so impressed with your kindness and I predict a white cat in your future!
I will never be a cat lady, I am not a cat person, nor am I a dog person, got nothing against either but just not interested in having pets, been there done that, moved on
What is a resting b****face?
itch, with a B at the beginning…..