We have 4 cats, who are happy with their pecking order (well, all except the low one on the totem pole!), and our house is pretty much cat-centered; baskets of cat toys all over, all windowsills have carpeting on them, conservatory has shelves at various levels and a big cat tree with platforms, vacuum cleaner is seldom powered up...
A young guy from across the street, who has a cat, came over about 3 weeks ago, when it was very snowy and icy out, and asked if I could cat-sit a little stray that crawled into his house. His cat was being very aggressive with it, and he was afraid to leave them in his place. I took the little fellow and put him in the conservatory. He looked about 4-5 months old, not neutered, very cute and very similar to our Lily but with a black spot on his nose. I spent some time with him and he was lovely, very friendly, a real lap cat. When husband came home, he liked him as well. The neighbor came home several hours later and we said we'd keep him for him, to put signs out and when he found owner to tell them to come to ours.
I took him to the vet a couple days later to see if he had a chip, which he did. He was registered to our local Cats Protection; so the vet called and got phone number and address; it was over a mile from our neighborhood! We couldn't believe this little cat had traveled so far in the snow, and wondered if someone dumped him off. We phoned the number several times and left messages but no response; we finally drove over to the address, and they said they didn't have a cat. We decided to just keep him, we both really like him. My late cat Lucia had been a lap cat, but none of our 4 were, and Oscar (as we called him) loved cuddles and being on my lap. We told the neighbor who found him all the info.
A week later, there's a knock on the door, and I open it to see a young woman with 2-year old boy. She lives across the road and a few houses down; she said she heard we had her cat! I was surprised, asked about the address and phone number, and that we had left messages. She said she had moved. So we had to give Oscar back, of course...but I was pretty depressed about it, as he was a lovely little fellow. I asked her not to let him out (we have a very busy road at the corner, a real death trap for young cats).
After that, in early mornings, my husband would see a little black and white cat at the alley gates all the time, right next to her house. We figured it was Oscar; he said if he could catch him, he would; the alley is really filthy and nasty, not fit for a cat to be wandering around in.
Then, last Friday evening, my husband was taking a nap...and there was a knock on the door. It was the boyfriend of the girl who owns Oscar. He said she had decided to get a puppy, and wanted to keep it, but it couldn't get along with Oscar and his sister, and they were going to get rid of the cats!! The Cat's Protection was full so they didn't know what to do, did I want them? I was gobsmacked...and very afraid they would dump them somewhere. I told him I'd have to talk to husband and would let him know. When I asked husband, he said...go get them right now - no telling what these people will do with them. So I went across the street and came back with 2 cats and a carrier and a box of Wiskas. They said they'd bring all the records over the next morning, so I could see the female had been spayed, and what shots they'd had, etc. But after 4 requests, they have not given me the paperwork, so I am washing my hands of them.
I took them into vets on Tuesday and got them registered (the vets are all rolling around laughing!), CP would have given them their shots, and we can't tell if she's been spayed, no scar, but our CP does the little incision on the side. So I will just have to watch her to see if she goes into heat. We call her Minnie, as she is a lot smaller than her brother, really tiny. Oscar is going in for neutering on Monday morning.
So it's a bit overwhelming, we were happy with our Hairy Horde of 4 cats, but we have really fallen for these 2 as well, and everyone seems to be learning to get on. Sox and Sammy are still hissing at Oscar, but I think that's just because he's not neutered yet and giving off a male smell. So hopefully things will calm down a bit more after Monday. Feeding time is totally insane; these 2 have no manners and actually sit up and scream and beg! But they're enjoying life with us know, and I think they're much better off with us that love and appreciate them.
(Sorry if this was a bit long, but wanted to tell the story!)
