Crazy Cat Lady?

I recently learned that the people who lived across the street from the house where I used to live (where my brother-in-law is now living) packed up and moved away a couple of weeks ago. And there was a question about whether they had left their cats behind. My brother-in-law commented that he kept seeing cats – who previously had been seen going in and out the open windows – sitting on the windowsills outside the house looking like they had been left outside, now that the windows were closed.

These former neighbors always had a number of cats, some of which I personally felt like I knew very well, and I was very distressed at the idea that they had been abandoned.

littlegirlWhen my sister was over at the house this past weekend, she noticed one cat in particular that looked like it was near starving and so she got some food and put it out for the cat. And this cat was obviously just craving attention terribly. My brother-in-law has continued to put food and water out for her every day.  I did not recognize the cat but thought it might be the little female that lived inside the neighbor’s house and used to have kittens all the time. I asked my son if he recognized her and he thought he did. So I got angry that this poor cat was abandoned.

samThen the other day, my sister sent me a picture of another cat that looked very much like one that I knew and recognized particularly well as it was over at my house all the time when our sons used to play together. I decided that someone (me?) MUST rescue those cats!  (What can I say, I adore cats…)

So.  I went over to the animal shelter and asked for a couple of cardboard carry boxes.  However, it wasn’t that simple.  I was directed to an officer to whom I explained the situation.  He was not convinced that I really knew what I was talking about – who was I, after all?  I did not even live in the neighborhood any more; in fact I don’t even live in the city limits at present!  I was given a report, which I was told to fill out and return,  after which they would investigate the situation.

But all I could think about was senseless bureaucracy, red tape and needless delayand meanwhile cats were abandoned and starving!  I felt compelled to take matters into my own hands.  So I did.

I went to the pet supply store and bought two cardboard cat carriers (which were way overpriced, by the way).  I then took my son and drove over to the old neighborhood – I was bound and determined to rescue those poor cats!

Well… the black cat that I thought I knew so well was a totally different cat, and one that was obviously feral; it would not let me get near it at all – but I did see it closely enough to realize it was not the one I thought it was from the photo.   I didn’t actually see any cats that I recognized.  I knocked on another neighbor’s door and asked her if she knew what had happened to these people’s cats.  She told me she was quite sure they had taken at least two of them.

Well, this little female was obviously abandoned and in definite need.  I could and would rescue her.  So I scooped her up and with my son’s help we took her over to the shelter.

They were not happy to see me.

An animal control officer was once again called – the same one I had spoken to earlier – and he was very large. He loomed over me and made me feel like he thought I was totally insane.   I told you not to get the cat; you can’t just go around collecting cats! There is a protocol to follow.  How do I know this is an abandoned cat, how do I know who you really are? [etc., etc.] …and if someone is feeding the cat, what is the problem? Who knows, we may even end up taking the cat back! [and on and on].  I was completely nonplussed.

And my whole case was completely blown, making me feel totally foolish, once my son told me that he really couldn’t say for sure if the cat we rescued was really the neighbor’s cat. I told the man that there were a lot of stray cats running around there but I really didn’t know for sure if they were my former neighbors’, but that this particular cat definitely needed rescuing, in any event. I told him I wasn’t interested in getting anyone in trouble, I just wanted to save the cat and that I couldn’t take it because I already have two big cats. The man was clearly exasperated at me, and while he did tell me I did a good thing, he also was full of criticism and barely restrained annoyance. I felt like a child being lectured – and in front of my son, no less! And he begged me to not bring in any more cats – as if I had any intention of going around scooping up cats!

As it turns out, the cat has a chip so hopefully they will be able to locate whoever the real owner is. And if that fails, hopefully the cat will be adopted, or at least well cared for. As we got back in the car to go home, my son said that he felt like we had done something wrong. And yes, that is kind of how I felt too and it was unsettling. But I told him that we do know that the cat we brought in did need rescuing and that is not a bad thing. And the neighbors won’t get in trouble unless it’s somehow proven that the cat is theirs – which it probably isn’t. But I do feel bad for jumping to conclusions. Sorry. No damage done though. I know that animal shelter officer just thinks I am a nutcase. Oh well.

Later in the evening, when my brother-in-law came home and found the cat that he’d been feeding gone, he told my sister that he sort of missed the little thing. I told her to tell him he could probably go to the shelter and adopt it!

Yes, he said, he could go and tell them that this crazy red-headed cat woman came and stole his cat!

Sheesh, you try to do a good deed… 😕

neko2

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