The Unexpected Cat

 

        Willow turns three years old today. Most mornings she walks onto my lap and tilts her head to get a scratch before settling down for a quick nap or cuddle session. This morning after she settled into my lap, I reflected on how she came to live with us.

        Three years ago, in July, a woman from church needed someone to take care of a kitten she recently adopted. Because the kitten was so small, it meant the kitten would need to stay in the home of whoever was caring for her. The woman and her family were going on a trip over the Independence Day weekend. She had planned to pick up the kitten after her trip, but the family she was adopting from wanted the kitten in her new home before the holiday. Someone put her in contact with me as someone who might be able to help.

        We had just lost our beloved Scamp a little more than a month before. For the first time in 25 years I had no cat to care for. C wanted us to wait until after our fall vacation to get another cat. I could understand why, it meant we would not have to arrange for cat care during our trip. It also meant a long lonely stretch with no cat.

    After consulting with C, we agreed to take care of the cat. Willow arrived at our house with her litterbox, food and water dishes, a few toys a box of litter and a bag of food. She was small and the same pale grey colour as pussy willows. Her eyes were a clear bright blue. We got her set up and put out a few toys that we had.

        It was clear that she enjoyed being in our house. She liked to run in all the open space of our house and jump on everything. She liked to curl up and listen to C play his guitar. One time she curled up behind his back while he sat in our gliding rocking chair. It was so cute to see this little kitten so happy. I had to remind myself over and over again not to get attached. She was not my cat. 

        Still, I enjoyed having a cat in the house and thought that when we did start looking for a cat to adopt, we might consider getting a grey one. I tend to be partial to orange cats, although Scamp was a black, grey and cream tabby.

        I was grateful that Willow was going to be picked up while I was visiting my parents. I knew I would probably cry and be sad. Willow was such a special kitten and I was going to miss her.  

        When I got home, Willow and all her things were gone. C had sent some of the toys that she liked to play with home with her. A little present from us. He told me it seemed like Willow was not happy about leaving. It felt good to have a cat in the house again and I looked forward to the fall when we would have cats in the house again.

        A few days later the woman called me. She wanted to know if we wanted to keep Willow. I was caught off guard, of course I would love to have her,but Willow was a special kitten. I didn't want to deprive the woman of her kitten. She explained to me that she had an older cat who was not happy about having a kitten rampaging around her apartment. Besides that, she had a clear impression that when she picked Willow up from our house, she was taking Willow away from her home.  I agreed to take her and asked her to keep Willow for a couple of days while we did some cleaning and made our home ready for her.  

        When we went to pick Willow up, I reimbursed the woman for her adoption fee plus a little more as thanks. We brought a carrier with a new clean towel in it so she would be comfortable for the short ride to her new home. She settled in quickly and seemed pleased to be back. 

        She's bigger now and her eyes have changed to a pale grey/blue. Her fur is dark grey with stripes and softer. She's become more vocal the last year or so with chirps and urrs. She stills enjoys running, jumping and chasing springs. She enjoys her cat tree and mostly gets along with Barnaby who came to live with us four months later. We are grateful for this unexpected cat.