4 feline house
01-17-2001, 02:58 AM
It is cold, rainy, and windy this evening. My son and I were watching TV earlier, about 11:00, when he asked which of the cats was outside. I said none that I knew of, then counted noses. Coming up with four, I told him he was hearing things. He got up and opened the door, and in ran a little gray, crying furball. My son, being as much of a cat lover as me, immediately scooped him up, and it was like they knew each other, the kitty snuggling into his shoulder, purring loudly, and my son baby talking to him. I asked him whose cat this was, he said he had never seen him before. I have never seen him either, and we don't have alot of strays in our neighborhood. I live in an area that is exclusively multi-family: duplexes, fourplexes, and apartment complexes. We see alot of kitties in windows, and a striking female tabby is allowed out by her folks occasionally, but outside cats are very rare. The little guy looks to be about 6-8 months old, and is not yet neutered. However, he has that tell-tale "ring" around his neck that means he once had a collar, and he is not noticeably hungry. But he was so desperate to get in out of the cold, I can't imagine that he is outside of his own volition. I made a little bed in the laundry room so he would at least be out of the rain and wind, but he stayed by the door and cried and cried, so I finally fixed him a "hotel room" in the bathroom, where he is now safely installed. He is still crying, but at least he is warm and yearning for love instead of cold and wet and yearning for love. I've checked on him a few times, and he just snuggles and purrs. I've brought him out to the living room a couple of times too, and although there has been alot of sniffing and growling, there has not even been a swat by him or the resident four. In fact, now that he's been here several hours, the others aren't even standing guard by the bathroom door anymore. There is a chance that this kitty belongs to my upstairs neighbors. About six months ago the teen daughter announced they had gotten two kittens, and I shuddered inside, because although my neighbors are sweet, and they have been good, quiet neighbors, they do not strike me as being the type that would be responsible pet owners (a little too much of the "Bubba factor" in their lifestyles and personalities). I'm suspecting that now that kitty's getting older (and new boyfriend's truck is now in the parking lot overnight) that cute kitten has now become a pain in the butt and so has been unceremoniously transferred outside. But neither my son nor I have ever seen any cats in their windows, so we both assumed the kittens either were wishful thinking on the daughter's part, or they realized early the error of their ways and gave the cats away to a new home long ago. Otherwise, he's lost or been dumped, because he was too determined to get inside. He would just go home if he had a home to go to and knew how to get to it. I can't imagine why people would do this to such a sweet, loving, people-oriented kitten, but I know it happens all the time. My son rides to school in a carpool with the upstairs daughter; he's going to see if he's theirs. If not, I guess I need to scrape up the money to neuter a little kitty, because as much as I don't need another cat, my conscience surely would not let me return a kitty to a family that did not bother to neuter him and kicked him out into such a nasty night. And if he turns out to be my neighbor's, I will return him, but not without a very stern lecture (and a watchful eye).