So in Love

Early last week, the sensitive, cat-friendly maintenance man (who I call Maintenance Buddy in real life cuz I don't remember his name) stopped me on the way to work to tell me that the tenants in another apartment had gotten evicted and moved out leaving their kitty behind. He said she was very friendly but he worried she would be "corrupted" by my kitties and turn feral in a matter of time. I agreed. He said there were all sorts of legal things that had to happen before anybody new could move into the kitty's old apartment, so he suggested I feed the kitty at the old apartment where she was still hanging around to keep her isolated. In order to keep an eye out for her, he told me she was all white. Hard to miss.

After discussing with Heather, the cat expert, she instructed me to keep giving the white kitty plenty of food and water to keep her from wandering too far and socializing with my ferals. In the meantime, she would check into foster homes affiliated with local feline rescue shelters.

I spent a couple days feeding the elusive white kitty without actually seeing her. I would notice the dry food eaten, the empty wet food cans pushed into the corner. Finally, on the third morning I loudly shook the box of dry food and turned to see the white kitty looking at me with curiosity. It was love at first sight.

After assessing me, she walked up to me tentatively and began the universal cat ritual of weaving through my legs. I petted her without hesitation and she responded by loudly purring. She was probably starved for attention. I stayed with her for awhile and did the same the next couple of days until Heather said a foster home was waiting for her and we could try to catch her anytime. In fact, not only was a foster home waiting for her to take her, but a woman was already waiting to adopt the white kitty and giver her a permanent home.

We caught her last Friday. I went out there with a carrier, fairly certain we wouldn't need a trap or anything. I picked her up and snuggled her awhile before gently shoving her in the carrier and handing her over to Heather. She mewed and I cried. I cried because this was way more difficult than handing over the two kittens I have rescued from a life of scavenging and parasites. This was someone's cat, a cat who one day relied on people to feed her, love her and care for her, and the next day the door was shut and those same people were long gone.

The following day Heather took her to the vet, had her tested for diseases and parasites. She's healthy except for a mean sunburn (apparently a common affliction for white cats) and will always need to be routinely checked for melanoma. As of a few days ago the tests are still out for ringworm and Heather didn't want to put her into foster care with ringworm where other kitties can be infected. Besides, Heather herself and her house kitties are currently on antibiotics for ringworm so it made sense for Heather to hang on to her until the tests are back. It's looking like foster care at this point will be replaced with Heather caring for her until the adoption goes through. Caring for the white kitty doesn't seem to bother her one bit.

In the meantime, I've stopped by a couple of times to to see her and pay her some attention and Heather teases me about having such a crush on her. It's true, I'm attached to her and I so selfishly want to take her into my home. But the logical part of me knows how silly that is when there is somebody else with more much space thrilled to adopt her. Heather had called the woman personally to see exactly why she was interested in adopting a white kitty (such preferences tend to raise flags) and she had told Heather she had three aging cats and one of them, a white one, had recently passed away. It's a perfect situation, and despite a few rough weeks for the white kitty, a happy ending.