They kept coming…

Living in a ground level condo as he was then, Grant saw a constant parade of stray cats past his window. He’d fed a couple and I suppose the word went out. He brought one to live indoors and then another…

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Dear old Tom was first, followed by Mama and Baby Girl, Sophia, Patches and Bob.

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They were mother and daughter.

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Patches and Sophia were half-sisters.

Even in a large condo, that is a fair crowd, but they were very mild-mannered and got on well together. Tom’s half-sister Emily was not so easy-going, so she was an early resident at the Kitty Suites.

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I offered her a place with my upstairs gang, but new residents had to be approved by the Manager and they didn’t exactly hit it off. It may be that Emily wasn’t all that keen on me either. She was a very particular cat. She liked Grant and was fond of a friend who came occasionally to play with the fosters, but if I tried to pet her, she was likely to swat at me.

Emily was with us for a long time. She deserved better than living in foster quarters, but she was the sort of cat that, like Piero, needed just the right person.

We began to fear Emily’s would never get a home, but a lady saw her picture on Petfinder and when they met it was like a reunion of lost souls. We got periodic updates with photographs of Emily cuddled up on the lady’s lap. They were a perfect match.

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Not that I wanted to increase my upstairs population endlessly, but I did have quite a lot of room in the new house, so as long as they were all agreeable…

Panther was obviously quite accepting of other cats, but he had some sort of screening procedure that I couldn’t begin to work out. Willow and Emily had apparently been uncomfortable with whatever policy it was he dictated.

Grant had accepted a skinny little *tortie that had been evicted from a nursing home where one of the residents had been feeding her. The woman’s family were much saddened because Lily had been a joy to her and they had all become very attached to the little cat.

It was easy to see why.

(Lily is identified as a tortoiseshell but I have always thought of her as a ginger tabby and that is the sort of personality she has. Annie was a tortie and very different.)

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Lily arrived while several highly opinionated cats were in residence.

Emily and Cassidy frowned at her from their high perches while big black Merlin prowled about eyeing her with interest and Piero rushed around like a mad thing. “M” shrugged:

“Sorry, girl. You’ll have to fit in as best you can.”

Not too long after Lily arrived her saucer-like eyes entreated me.

“Come”, I said. “Let’s go upstairs.”

Panther took one look: “Yeah. You’ll do.” Just like that Lily was accepted.

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And soon she had befriended the bunnies.

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It was amazing how we kept acquiring more cats. One Sunday we were obliged to take one of the cats to an emergency clinic and as we paid the bill, someone came in and dropped off a carrier, announcing that this was the rescue they had had a call about.

“What will happen to it?” Grant inquired.

It would be going to a shelter. Grant looked at me. I raised an eyebrow.

“Can we take it instead?” he asked the attendant. Well sure…

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We came home with yet another cat. Grant chose the name and it suited him well. Officially, Merlin was black but under a light you could see that he was more like dark chocolate.

He was a very good-looking boy and unusually for a stray, both ears were intact. When strays are neutered, their ears are clipped to avoid having them brought in again. Perhaps Merlin had been an escapee rather than a stray.

However his picture and details were posted on Petfinder and no-one ever claimed him. Black cats are more difficult to re-home, but Merlin was exceptionally handsome and he was adopted within months.

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Cassidy also came from a veterinary clinic. We got a call one day from one of our doctors. A client had brought in their cat to be euthanised. She had had a cancerous tumour removed and was doing well, but the owner claimed to be unable to afford looking after her, as she was getting old. The doctor was reluctant to euthanise a healthy animal but agreed to take charge of her. So, might we take her?

Of course. Elderly cats with possible health issues are at least as hard to place as black ones, but Cassidy went to live in “M’s” room along with Emily. The two matrons sat high up on adjacent shelves, surveying the antics of the young boy-cats that knew better than to challenge the old ladies.

A retired couple came by one day. I believe it was Emily they intended to visit, but the moment they stepped through the door, Cassidy got down off her perch and marched up to the woman, which was extraordinary because it was not something she ever did.

Cassidy was a very pretty creature and paired with her friendly welcome, the people naturally asked about her and we related her story. It turned out that the woman was also a cancer survivor. They clearly belonged together. We were happy for them.

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This must seem like an unending story, but we have a long way to go yet.

Soon we found ourselves agreeing to take in 5 more cats from Eastern Washington.

Which turned into 6…

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