Our neighborhood is like many others in that various animals occasionally pass by our house. We’ve seen dogs, cats, squirrels, and even an opossum now and then.
Nighttime or day, it doesn’t matter. Animals, it seems, are not on the same circadian rhythm as people.
One typical day in the summer of 2023 I was outside, checking the front of the house and seeing how tall the grass was. My life is exciting like that.
As I looked around, I spotted a black and white cat in my neighbor’s yard. I didn’t think much of it. I certainly didn’t think the cat would let me approach it. So, I went on with my most-interesting yard duties.
I learned later that our neighbor had seen the cat a short while back and decided to feed it each morning and evening.
During the following couple of months, I noticed the cat would venture onto both of our neighbor’s yards (the one on our right and the one on our left), using our yard as its “transitway.” Sometimes – I suppose as a form of payment for using our yard – the cat would stop for a while on the sidewalk, providing us with a nice afternoon visual enigma as to where it came from and why it hung around our area. And then it would move on.
The cat spent more and more time in front of our house as time went by. So, one day in the late afternoon, my wife and I decided to approach the cat, just to see how close we could get to it. Closer and closer we made our way toward the feline. Too close! The cat decided that’s far enough. It headed east, toward our neighbor’s yard.
Other times came and went, but with each time, the cat let us get a little closer to it.
Finally, after more than two months since we first saw the four legger, she let us touch it lightly and briefly. Her big hazel eyes seemed to show only concern; no fear. Great! More time passed – she would now trust us enough to lay down and occasionally roll over onto her back.
I decided then that the cat had finally made the decision to adopt us (both of our neighbors and us). We were hooked, but we didn’t mind.
My wife’s favorite expression for the cat is “She’s so cute; she really is.”
Decide for yourself: “I’m Ready for Action” and “This is the Life” and this too “The Confident Cat”.
After some more time went by, my neighbor asked me if I would feed the cat (whom she called Meow Meow). She regularly bought food for her two indoor cats, and now she was buying more for the new animal. I said sure but only if I could reimburse her for the cat’s food. With that arrangement in place, the cat had two households to keep it healthy. Meow Meow learned quickly which doorstep to go to for her meals.
My wife became concerned one day that the cat might get “knocked up” by another cat roaming around the neighborhood. She said the cat really should be spayed. Oh my! What a lifestyle change that would be for the cat! I thought about it awhile and decided my wife was right. After some more thinking on the matter, I said the cat would need to be kept in the house for a day or two (or maybe more) starting the day after the surgery so the sutures could heal. My wife also thought that the cat would need to be kept in the house the night before the drive to the vet so that I would be able to find her early that morning (since the vet had told me I must have the cat there before 9:00 am). Since I would need to take the cat to the vet early, how would I make sure the cat is around that morning? Up till now the cat would stay with us on the couch only about an hour and then head to the front door, telling me she wanted to go out (perhaps out NOW).
So, new plan: gradually keep her in the house longer and longer. We had previously bought food and a litter box, so she would have the essentials. (We also had bought her two types of small structures for her to claw, but she ignored both in lieu of the couch and a few chairs in the house. I had to watch her closely for that natural activity of a cat.) We put our plan into action, gradually extending the time in the house until we felt okay with keeping her overnight in the near future. Hope that really will work.
I began calling vet places to get prices. Whoa! Such a variation in costs for spaying.
After thinking about the whole process a bit more, I decided I should put the cat in a boarding place for a few days after the surgery, so that people who deal with animals recovering from injuries could watch the cat. They would be able to tell if something is wrong much better than I would be able to notice anything. So, I began calling cat boarding places. Variations in price exist with those businesses but not by too much.
I settled on a vet and a boarding place (a cat condo as one place called it) and made arrangements with each one. Side note: one boarding place actually told me their enclosure for the cat came with a TV and toys. A TV? I don’t know what the cat’s favorite station is. And does our cat know how to use the remote? Too many potential problems there.
And then I anxiously waited the couple of weeks for the time for the cat’s admission.
Well, actually, I didn’t just sit and wait. I tricked the cat into its carrier one day and put it onto the front seat of my car (with a plastic sheet and a couple of old towels on the seat just in case the cat freaked out). Off we went, slowly driving around the neighborhood. I talked to Meow Meow all the time while driving so that she could not only see me but could hear my voice. Hopefully, that would keep her calm. After about ten minutes of driving, with Meow Meow not saying a single meow, we returned home. Out of the car and out of the carrier – the cat was free again. She acted as if nothing had happened. That was a relief to me.
I didn’t want to think about what the cat was going to go through with the spaying process, but I knew our decision was the right one.
It was very nice of my neighbor to tell me she would help me get the cat into the carrier on the morning of the drive.
The morning came. The cat’s last meal had been at 7:00 pm the night before. It was a (not cold) dark, rainy morning. My good neighbor helped much in getting Meow Meow into the carrier. With the carrier buckled down, the cat and I went off.
I talked (about what streets we were on, the traffic signals, the short time to our destination, and other such interesting topics) the entire trip (about fifteen minutes) to reassure the cat that everything was okay.
Naturally, at 7:00 am on that day, I missed the building and had to turn around a little further down the street.
A note: I had planned to make a test drive by myself before the day of the surgery, but other activities squashed that plan.
Another note: Meow Meow had grown sort of big on her sides. She’s pregnant, I thought. I hope I can get her to the vet before she delivers; I don’t want to deal with any kittens.
So, when I missed the building, I became a bit more nervous.
But after I made the U-turn, I spotted the place and pulled in. Wait, that’s a fire hydrant! Back out (watch for the traffic – why so many cars at this time of day?). I drove forward another thirty feet (someone is trying to exit the parking lot – how many more problems are going to happen!). With my blinker on, I waited for the car to venture onto the street (and get out of my way). I pulled in. Finally there!
I went into the small building and waited my turn. I filled out the paperwork for the cat’s spaying and all the shots the “feral” cat would need. I then paid for the upcoming costs and let them take Meow Meow into the “dungeon of horrors.” What would the experience do to her? Would she still come into the house in the evenings? Would she run in panic the next time she saw me?
The original plan was that I would pick her up at 6:00 pm that same day, let her stay in the game room at home (the only room in the house that doesn’t have furniture that can be ripped to shreds by the ferociousness of the cat), and then take her to the boarding place the next morning (another ride for the cat). (I would have to take her to the boarding place the following day because that place closed at 5:00 pm.) I would retrieve her after a couple of days.
Later that morning, I thought of something I had forgot to include on the list of activities for the cat. I called to see if they could trim the cat’s nails. They said sure. A couple of hours later, I called the vet’s office to see how things were going. I was told spaying was out of the question because Meow Meow was actually a male cat (and neutered, by the way). What! Would you say that again? I thought, she (he) would go to the boarding place that day. But wait, no boarding place would be needed. What did the vet’s office say? I couldn’t get my thoughts together for several seconds. By then the woman started telling me she would refund the parts of the costs for the processes that would not need to be done. So, I realized I could pick up Meow Meow any time I wished.
After the call ended, I sat down, still processing what the vet had told me.
I told my wife. She was as taken aback as I was.
I drove to the vet’s office and said I was there to pick up the cat with the secret identity.
I drove back home and released Meow Meow. (She (he) was sluggish for two days (from the shots) but was then okay as if nothing had happened.) When my neighbor saw Meow Meow the next morning, she took a picture of the cat and sent it to me, asking if another Meow Meow was in the neighborhood. I explained what had happened, and she was flabbergasted, just as my wife and I had been.
I called the boarding place to explain how my plans had changed (and to cancel my appointment). I offered to pay for one day’s boarding for their troubles, but the woman there said that was nice of me but not necessary. I thanked her and said I had stored their information in my Windows Contacts folder.
Meow Meow leads a normal life once again. And now, for the first time since I was a kid, I have an animal in my life.
My wife and I are still trying to adapt to how we call the cat.