FELINES FOREVER

I actually have three adoption stories, and that's the funny thing about cats, THEY adopt you, not the other way around. They know where they want to live and go to all lengths to get you to know they choose you. So no matter how hard you try, to say "just this once", they melt your heart and become part of the family.

My first story starts when my kids and I were staying at my parents for awhile, we were out in the yard raking leaves to put in a Halloween pumpkin lawn bags, and from out of nowhere, a black and white tuxedo kitten appeared. She started playing with the kids and stayed around all afternoon. The kids wanted to give her some milk and tuna, so we went to get her a saucer. She ate it all up, and seemed very friendly.

I never gave it much more thought, until later that night. I was putting the kids to bed, and my dad called me in to talk to me. He had asked what I planned on doing with "that cat", I told him I really hadn't planned on doing anything with it and figured it would go back to wherever it came from. Well, he informed me that it was going to be getting cold in the next few nights, and he thought the boys needed a pet.. I'm like come again? I couldn't believe what I was hearing, all my life, my brother and sister raised dogs, I had BEGGED to get a kitten, and was told, they don't like dogs,( even though most of my friends had dogs AND cats.) So I had given up on the idea of ever owning one. Now he tells me the kids need a pet...?? I wasn't even sure if he discussed it with my mom yet, thinking she'd flip.. but I went along with it. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Needless to say I was getting a bit excited from his talk, I told him I could call the vet to get it shots, and fixed, and we could bring her in.

The next day "the cat" was still sleeping on the porch cushions when I went to get the kids to school, I told them that if she was still there when we got home, we could go to the store and get some stuff for her. I had made the appointment for the vet, they were able to get her in pretty quickly.

Sure enough when we got home, she was still there, so we went to the store, and got food, a litter box and some cool toys, the boys named her Oreo, and we took her inside. It was really neat watching her investigate.

The day of her vet appointment was not a good one, she did ok, but when we brought her home she ran and hid for awhile, she was really mad at us. She only came out to eat, and use the litter box, but we never saw her, when her week was up, that she had to be inside, we thought we'd let her out, bad idea, she ran away.

I had just rented the house next door to them, and she still stayed with my parents, we were so sad. It was cold and snowy and every night we went to check for her. A week later, I went out again, when I got home from work, it was starting to get dark. I called for her, and finally I heard her meowing cry, off in the distance, finally we got our baby back. I think one of the neighbors may have had her, and she was finally able to escape. The kids were so happy, and so was she.

A year later, we were moving to VA and Oreo, was staying back at grammas, we thought we could come back and get her when we got settled, but that didn't quite work out as planned, she ended up being there a few more years, until my dad couldn't take care of her anymore, he was in his 80s, and it was getting hard on him, so my sister in law found someone to take her. They didn't tell us, so when we finally DID go back to get her, after I moved to TN, she was gone. That was very devastating, I had never gotten over it.

Then came Oreo II. My friend and I were in Pet Smart, and for whatever reason, I wanted to go look at the cats. In the back of my mind, I always thought my Oreo, may have ran away, and I'd find her, like on Homeward Bound, so I went in, half heartedly, and none of the cats really interested me, till I was about to go out, and one reached it's paw out to say "hello," and meowed at me. I read the card and her name was Oreo too, a black and white tuxedo, with similar markings of my other one. Her birthday was the same day as mine, she was about 2 years old, and was due to be euthanized, they had her for four months, I knew I couldn't let that happen. It was Easter, and I had to save her.

I paid the $100. and took her home, she adjusted very well, and would go outside with me, she stayed on the patio, and never ran off. She even started mimicking me, in the morning when I'd wash my face, I had to turn the water on in the garden tub to trickle out so she could wash her face too, and take a bath. She was so dainty, like a little lady.

We moved to Ga, and she was basically an indoor/outdoor cat by now, she loved to catch mice, and other things, and leave me "presents." She was a great cat.

In 2016 we were getting ready to move back to Ohio, and I think she sensed it, because she ran away on our last day there. I let her out, and she didn't come back, we drove around to find her, but she was gone. I had asked my neighbor to keep a look out for her, cuz we were planning a trip back to get more stuff from storage, but she never came back. It broke my heart.

When we got the apartment in Ohio, my fiance' and I both agreed that we didn't want the heartache of anymore cats, he had lost his cat too. There were a lot of strays in the neighborhood, but they pretty much did their own thing, and never bothered anyone, until one day, a calico rubbed up against his leg. He didn't tell me, until the next day I was out sitting on the steps, and she came over to me, she was so precious.. I called him to ask if he'd seen her, and he said she comes up to him every morning, when he's drinking his coffee.

We went to the store and got her some necessities, and opened the door to our building, it had a double entrance with a little closet that was under the stairs, she cautiously went inside. I set her bed up and the litter box in the closet(no door) and gave her some food and water. As she got used to being there , we opened the door to our apartment, she went in, sniffed around a bit, and laid down on the carpet. It was as if she said, " ok, I'm home now", "I guess I will take a nap." She was never much of a climber, like most peoples cats you see them on the counters and everywhere. She really was very well behaved, which surprised me for a stray, but I guess I'm learning more and more about how strays can present themselves, on their best behavior.

I didn't know what to name her, I'm not good at that, and I didn't want to call her patches, and do cats really know their names? One day when I got out of the shower, she came over to "dry" me off she started licking me, like cat's do, on themselves, and when I reached out my hand, she nibbled on my fingers, she wasn't biting them, but I guess it's her quirky way of showing affection, so I named her "NIBBLES." And she still does it to this day.

We went on vacation, and took her to my friends house to visit ( for the week), one thing you can't do, she hated it! She growled and hissed every chance she got, and my friend tried everything she knew to make her happy, nothing worked until I walked in the door to pick her up, she was so happy, she rubbed on my legs and flopped down for me to pet her, and you would never have known how mean she could be. That's when we found out she don't like people.

We have since had friends come over to visit, and she hisses and growls, like telling them "this is my home, and you need to leave", that's when we have to get the water bottle out and tell her how impolite it is to guard the bathroom, so no one can use it, and she needs to go to her room, if she can't be nice.

At night time she cuddles up to my pillow and sleeps right next to me most of the night, she even puts her paw out, like she wants to hold my hand. She is really spoiled rotten, and that's why I used that picture, for cuteness, if you open a drawer, she's in it, I was putting my laundry away, and she thought she'd help.

I do believe this cat is ours for the duration, attitude and all. She's chosen us to provide for her daily needs, and in return, she loves us unconditionally. What more could we ask for?

The third time is a charm