Emily
The night we closed on the house, we came over with a bottle of champagne and our two cats (because we are insane). There was a cat hanging around the back stoop, watching us through the window. She was there every time we came to the house, meowing and purring and generally being sweet. We talked to our new neighbor and realized that she was a stray; the girl who lived in this house before we bought it had been feeding her, then abandoned her.
Anger doesn't even begin to describe how we felt.
We immediately brought her some cat food, and she ate it so fast I'm not sure she chewed—but at the same time, she kept coming over for pats. It was like she didn't know which she needed more: food or love. At first, we thought she was the drooliest cat we'd ever met, but we came to realize later—with utter heartbreak—that she was drooling because she was starving.
We debated about what to do; she was very loving and gentle, but we already had two cats, and we were worried about bringing in a cat who's used to going outdoors. Our cats are indoor cats only; Oliver (the ragdoll) is not fast enough or smart enough to anywhere there are predators, and Lucy is just used to being an indoor cat from years of living in Boston. We didn't want to be unfair to anyone, but we also hated the thought of this sweet cat living outdoors in the rain and cold. We talked about taking her to a shelter, but we didn't know that she would find a home that was wonderful, and we just didn't want to take that risk. We were hesitating.
So we caved. We took her to the vet, had her tested for all the bad things and got her shots, and brought her inside. The vet said she is about two years old and had been spayed, and she took to the litterbox and scratching post immediately, so it brought us even further heartbreak to know that she had probably either gotten lost or was abandoned at some point. We followed some great advice and introduced her to our cats very slowly, and though Lucy is just generally a jerk of a cat, things have gone pretty well. Just this morning, they were all asleep on the same bed together.
So yes, we have three cats. It's something we tell ourselves often as we shake our heads, but we wouldn't give up our sweet new Emily. How could you with that face?
All photos by Erica Midkiff. These photos (and more!) can be found on my Flickr page.
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Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 5:59PM
Reader Comments (2)
That is so sad! I am so happy to hear that you have taken her in. I grew up with three cats, and love them so much. My husband is allergic so we can't have them anymore but stories like this break my heart. I hope all goes well with your cats adjusting to the new one.
I can't believe someone would do that,blows.my.mind. You two are good people, this is a lucky cat indeed!