aliki | Say "hi" to Pumpkin

On Halloween, I heard a loud meowing sound from our garage. We leave our garage door open by six inches from the ground to allow our cats to enter and exit our house. So I went out to the garage, looked under Brian's motorcycle, and saw an orange head.

I assumed it was Tyler, our 14-year old cat.

I said: "Tyler, be quiet!" and the cat stopped meowing. From the garage, I went back into the house, and walked right into Tyler. :confused: I walked back out to the garage, and took a closer look at the orange cat. He was much smaller, much dirtier, and very scared. I snapped my fingers and he came running with a loud purr. I got him a bowl of milk and some dry food, which he gratefully ate voraciously.

I left him in the garage and went into the house. He wouldn't stop meowing. When I opened the door to the garage, he was sitting on the stair, and immediately tried to run into the house. I grabbed him, tossed him back out into the garage, and tried to start dinner. He wouldn't stop crying. He wailed so loud, a long painful, lonely cry. So I opened the door. And he came running, not to explore the house or disappear down the hallway, but straight to my legs and he started purring. When I bent down to pet him, he jumped right up into my arms.

He's about six months old, and horribly underweight. I plucked two ticks off his shoulder blade, and cleaned his ears, which were filled with ear mites. His fur was dirty, so I gave him a bath. I trimmed his nails. Fed him a little more.

It was a cold night. Brian said we'll call the local shelter in the morning, but neither of us wanted to say we'd "surrender" the cat to the shelter. Considering 90% of cats just get euthanized at shelters. He's extremely friendly and Brian keeps saying "he's somebody's pet" because he recognizes the sound of a potato chip bag opening and hungrily comes running. He will not stop meowing when you are preparing food in the kitchen, even if you're cutting an apple. He follows me from room to room, inside the house and out to the backyard, and back into the house. He tries to follow me to the bathroom and meows every time I stop petting him. He runs underneath and between my feet when I'm cooking in the kitchen.

He's been fighting with Poseidon, who seems to hate him with a deep vengeance. Poseidon has been chasing him around the house, stalking him, and biting him. Poseidon was a shelter cat and was rescued from a studio apartment with 30 other cats. He was six months old at the time. I think he hates the idea of not being the youngest cat in our family. Plus he probably doesn't like the idea that this is the fourth cat in the house.

Brian insists he's not petting the cat until he knows it is ours. I posted "FOUND" signs at the post office and the local vet's office, and called the local animal shelter and left our phone number. Though he won't touch the cat, he named it Pumpkin, and takes Pumpkin outside to do his business. (We dont have litter boxes in the house, but Pumpkin walks outside with the dog to poop and pee, then comes back inside when he's done).

We're not saying we're keeping the cat. But we know the odds against cats at shelters. At the vet's office, I saw over six ads for "FREE KITTENS" and Pumpkin doesn't look half as cute as those kittens. WHen I adopted Poseidon from the shelter at nine months old, they said he was a week away from being euthanized. They don't keep older non-kittens for long. So what are we to do?

We said no more cats, and three was plenty. We said we are moving soon, so we can't afford to take new pets. We are in a transitional period in our lives, so it wouldn't be fair. But what happens when the cat shows up in your house and chooses you?

Say "hi" to Pumpkin

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