Kitty come home

Ruth, Beth and I met at Rescue Village, a Geauga County animal rescue facility. I wanted to adopt a cat named Tori, surrendered by her  owner because of the owner's health issues. Tori was the longest at the shelter, surrendered last October.

Tori had a room of her own because she disliked being housed with other cats. Big room. We went in to meet her. She certainly had personality. Feisty, even. I saw her as a six year old cat whose world had changed and whose new world was not wonderful. She was happy to interact with us and the toy we offered. We went out to complete the adoption process.

The adoption consultant was so happy Tori was finally finding a home. However, she warned, Tori could not be picked up until Monday. She was participating in a fundraiser. We already were told that, and thought we had obtained a waiver. The consultant went to check and returned to say we were informed incorrectly; Tori could not leave until Monday.

Even Ruth protested. She plays her several years old than me age card very well, but No. This had been protested to the owner (?) and Tori was not free to go today. Looking around only one room, there were several tortus cats who could stand in for Tori, who could not be adopted in any case, since I intended to adopt her. The consultant had tears in her eyes. Tori cannot leave today. The three of us left.

After we settled in the car and fastened belts, Beth stuck out her phone. The Summit County Humane Society was on the long way home. Why not; after the grueling job of assembling an out house for a cat, the job today was to find a cat.

We arrived in short order and chatted with another adoption specialist, also named Beth, who took detailed notes of the sort of cat I was looking for and ran a search on her computer. She came back with a list and off we went.

One room housed several potential adoptees. One fellow named Cesar might easily have been called SeizeHer. He nailed me and drew blood! I was stunned at the back story of most cats. Kittens are the usual problem; cats are cats and have kittens. However, the number of abandoned older cats is appalling. 

I kept coming back to one cat whose age was listed as one to seven years old. She had been found abandoned and injured in a West Akron neighborhood and given to a vet clinic, which treated her leg and turned her over to Summit County Humane Society. Because it was the fall season of the year, the Society named her Holly.

Her history was completely unknown. Did someone own and abandon her? This seems the most likely; she seems to be a housecat. She also has "redundant pharyngeal membranes attached to her soft palate." It does not affect her quality of life, except to make her snore. 

I debated between Holly and another similar cat far more shy; only able to put one eye past the edge of her box to look. She had far to go in her socialization course. In the end I picked Holly, and renamed her Katherine on the way home. I'm sure she had a home once, and now has a home again. I only need convince her. 

She inched herself half way out of her carrier, watching me closely the entire way. When I went to the door for my dinner, I heard the carrier significantly move and when I came back, Kitty was in the outhouse.  She took a long nap. I just looked over and she is contemplating me. Sometime after I go to bed I'm sure she will come out, find her pillows, her food and water. I wonder where I'll find her tomorrow.