"I don't know if I should tell you this mom." My son paused.... then added, "last night I saw a coyote down the street with a small dead cat in it's mouth."
"How close?"
"Half a mile."
Fancypants was safe....but for how long? I live on the outskirts of the city in a heavily forested subdivision....coyotes occasionally roam the neighborhood ....grabbing cats for a treat.
I went outside and checked
Fancypants. She had wandered over and was meowing waiting for me to feed her.
"Tom, get the cat kennel."
He handed me the old plastic kennel and I shoved the bowl of cat food into the box.
Fancypants was hungry and cautious. She took one step into the kennel....and I pushed her butt from behind and slammed the door.
There was no turning back. I had a irritated, hungry, wary cat in a kennel and I headed for my master bathroom...where I could contain and observe her for a while. Was she litter box trained....was she going to hiss and nip at us?.....would she go wild enclosed in the room?
We noticed
Fancypants in May. She was just a puff of white fur in the bushes. I figured out the fur was part of a cat....but...ignored her....could be neighbor's cat or a stray someone dumped. Because I live at the edge of the city limits....it's not unusual to see a stray dog or cat. People figure it's the edge of town....the homes are nice....here you take care of my sick/hostile/unwanted dog or cat.
I have two dogs....and one cat.....and I said to my husband....."it" is none of our business and we are closed.....no vacancy. Amen.
I saw her here and there....she began looking skinny....her mouth was open as she panted from the heat and the humidity. I left water one day in a bowl.....and a little dry cat food the next day.
Absolutely....totally no vacancy.....but I'm not heartless....I would put out some water for the poor thing.
I took my parent's ashes back to Chicago and wondered if we'd see the cat again....perhaps she would drift off now that water and food were gone.
When I returned....nothing for about two days....then I opened our front door and she was standing there.... pitifully meowing. Oh geez....so I deposited a bowl and a little food and water. I tried to pet her.....but she hissed and nipped me....after a little food and water....she stood quiet and let me touch the good scratching area behind her ears.
She was there the next day and the next day......each day....she sat longer or let me touch her just a bit more. If I dared touch her rump or legs though.....she turned and nipped my hand....not hard...but enough to send a message.
We headed off to Colorado and I wondered what would happen to her.....yes yes the no vacancy policy.....no no ....no more cats.....the house is full.
When we returned....she was in our driveway within a few hours......meowing....looking hot and sad....and thin....I gave her a bowl of water and food and placed it in our garage. She ate quickly then stretched out on the cool cement floor a few feet from us.
I could list about 50 reasons not to get involved with a stray cat...disease, not litter box trained, aggression, perhaps unable to live in the house or tolerate other animals. She still hissed on occasion and nipped...not a good sign.
So I said to my hub...let's just keep and eye on her and see if she calms down...becomes more friendly then we can make a decision.
He agreed that was "wise."
But then the worse part of the heat wave hit last week.....she would come up to us and actually let us scratch her....she was also walking around with her mouth open....she was so hot...I gave her cool water....and she snuck into the garage and just plastered herself on the floor near a fan.
Poor poor thing...but I still didn't take her in the house. Once I brought her in....well that would be it.....a whole bunch of dominoes would get
activated.....sequestering ....observation...visit to the vet.....more
sequestering.....slow introduction to the other animals. Each and every step could bring big trouble...and who wants trouble in their house....dogs/cat fighting? what if she's a jumper and walks all over.... breaking things.
No best to give her more time....more looking.
Then Tom told me about the coyote.
Heaven or Hell here we come.
So we carried her into the bathroom and opened the kennel.....she drank water and stretched out on the cool floor tiles....in about ten minutes she was constantly purring. Tom and I took turns checking on her....each time we visited.... she would wrap herself around our legs....purring so loud she sounded like a motor.
Was this the same cat? Where was the hissing/ nipping.....steely eyed little spit of a cat that's managed to evade coyotes, dogs, and suffer through southern heat and humidity?
We were surprised....and she kept on purring all evening.
This morning.....I fed her....and put the bathroom carpets end to end on the floor. I have only a small chair in the bathroom which is uncomfortable and sitting on the tub isn't actually comfy either. So I stretched out on the floor.....on top of my rugs....and put the next chapter of my audio book on my son's
Walkman. I could listen to my book and give her a chance to get familiar with me.
I was listening intently to the
CD...when
Fancypants....walked over slowly and studied me.
Then ...ever so gently ........she stepped into the space between my arm and my rib cage...a little nook of empty space next to me. She circled and slowly lowered herself down. She stared at me for a long minute... then draped her paw and her head on my arm....and closed her eyes.
I was shocked....was this the same cat?
I looked down at her....she adjusted her position..... then I felt her body go limp....as she fell asleep. I wondered how long it has been since she felt safe enough to sleep.
Damn....she's our cat now....I thought .......for better or worse.
I pet her gently behind the ears.....closed my eyes and listened to the rest of my audio book.
She purred and slept as if it was always supposed to be like this.
