On Being Adopted (Update)

Spike had been my cat for 17 years and Sylvie was Lisa’s cat for 20 years. They made the trip down to Texas together. Once we were in our house, Spike and Sylvie were joined by our foundling kitten, Babs, named after Lisa’s Aunt Barbara. Babs was only 7 weeks old when we heard her cries for help and found her stuck in our fence by the side of the house. To this day, we can’t imagine where she came from or how she got there, but we came to her rescue. After a bath and some food she was exhausted. We left her in the guest bathroom over night and I had decided that a third cat was too many so I had planned to take her to an animal shelter the next day. Fortunately for us, Babs had other plans.


The next morning found us staring at this little, tiny, fluffy charcoal kitten with a loud purr. She leaped and gave us head butts and rubbed against us and she had me hook line and sinker. We had been adopted. Babs immediately took over the house and the two older cats. Babs was fearless in the face of growls and hisses, mostly from Sylvie, who wanted nothing to do with this tiny upstart. On the other hand, Spike found the little kitten more of a curiosity and eventually bonded with Babs. He would let her curl up with him in a chair during cold winter months and the two would have a good snooze. I was astonished one time to see Spike, the old male cat, licking Babs like a mother cat during one of their get-togethers. Sylvie eventually came to tolerate Babs and they became the three cats I vowed we’d never have.

Lisa and I had decided to take our time selecting another cat or cats after the passing of our beloved Sylvie and Spike recently. We considered leaving Babs as our only cat, but we are both gone for long periods of time during the week. So the plan was to check out some of the animal shelters to find a companion for Babs. We thought we should get a kitten since they seem to adapt better than an older cat. But once again fate had other plans.

Calli started coming across the street in the evenings and into our back patio. She was a beautiful, little calico kitten about 5 months old. She had a fluffy tail and a black “mask around her eyes. From the very start she was a lover! She jumped into our laps and nuzzled us with loud purrs and head butts. She could not get enough attention. We suspected that she might belong to the old couple from across the street near the ally. She seemed healthy and well groomed, even though we knew the older couple had health problems. We figured that the nurse or caregiver might be taking care of her. We reluctantly left her outside at night, even though on one of Calli’s visits she went charging for the back door and would have run into our house before we caught her. She was trying folks! There are a lot of cats out at night in our neighborhood and that’s the problem. They get pregnant or worse.

On one of Calli’s visits, she brought a littermate, we named him Sammy. He was also in need of attention, but he turned out to be a bitter and a scratcher. The two of them curled up on our back steps that night much to the dismay of Babs who was looking out the back door window. Calli disappeared for a while after that, but one day while I was home, she came over in the middle of the day. She rubbed against my legs and began purring. We had only seen her at night. When she showed up again that night we suspected she had no home and had to make a decision. Soon, she would go into heat and wind up like so many of the cats in our neighborhood. We took her in.

Calli did not like being closed up in the kitchen at night. She wanted attention! The next morning we took her to our vet and had her tested to make sure she could be around Babs. We would get her shots and spayed at the Animal Defense League later. She checked out so we began what we thought would be a long, gradual process of introduction to Babs. Babs was curious, but she would hiss if Calli got too close. Babs’ whole personality began to change. She would not let either of us pet her and she was skittish. We were being snubbed! Babs resented the new cat big time.

We decided to keep Calli in the kitchen at night so that Babs would have some respite and come back and sleep with us again like the old days. By the second or third night in the kitchen, Calli was having none of it. Just as I was about to drift off to sleep, “little miss Houdini” came trotting down the hall and into our bedroom and jumped up on the bed. Calli nuzzled into Lisa’s arm pit and wrapped her little paw around her arm and set to purring. (I wish I had had a camera.) We knew she was not going back to the kitchen.

It has been a week now and Babs is finally coming around. She is acting more like herself and even tried to play with Calli a few times. They both sleep with us at night without any growling or hissing. Calli loves to curl up with us and spread out. She is completely at home. I’ve never seen such an affectionate cat! She was one determined feline. She knew she was our new cat…well before we did.

Welcome to the family, Calli!

Food for THOUGHT…