We have a cat. Okay, not really, but kind of. Is it true (or just a suburban legend) that if you feed a stray cat, she legally belongs to you? Well, if it is, then we have a cat.
The scraggliest, skinniest, ugliest cat I’ve ever seen has been hanging out in our back yard. She seems starved for food and affection since (literally) throwing her into the neighbors yard or over the bushes seems to not deter her from seeking our company again.
One day, she just moved my heart to pity. Must be getting close to St. Francis’ feast day. Anyway, I just had to feed her, she looked so pathetic. She got a paper cup of milk which she completely finished. Apparently, it wasn’t quite enough for her empty tummy. A few minutes later, I went out to the yard to find her munching (again, quite literally) on the head of a little mouse. Well, fine by me! We’ve had a few mice in the garden not hurting anyone and a few in the (detached) garage, but when it gets cold, we’ve also had one in our wall and one in the basement. So, being the thankful kitty she is, our new pet was just repaying me.
The boys even named her Cupcake. But, still, they could tell that I didn’t really like her. I don’t like any cats, even though I appreciated the yard being de-moused. Luke especially caught on to my animosity and would say things like “oh, that yucky cat is back. Can we donate her, mommy?” Apparently, I mentioned about how animal control picks up strays, but I was too lazy to actually catch Cupcake and make the call. Luke thought it was like Purple Heart… they come and pick up your donated goods.
We never did get a picture of her. She came by every other evening or so. Andrew and the boys were playing outside and my first realization that she was around was seeing Andrew carry her around the hind quarters, like he started with his hands around her tummy and she just slid forward until most of her body was hanging forward. The wild little kitty never clawed or bit him, even when he subjected her to that kind of torment.
Scott taught the boys “The Cat Came Back” song (remember that one from grade school music class?) and we substitute our situation for the words. It gets pretty silly!
It seems like we never even took it down. (we did… just for a few weeks) He prefers the floor, apparently.