3 Good Cats

THIS IS THE CAT who adopted us.  Pat and I had taken our 1995 vacation during the last week of September to do some work around the house.  On the first day, we heard a chipmunk start barking loudly in the back yard, and we went out on the deck to find out why.  From there, we saw a cat run through our back yard and into the flower garden next to the deck, where he began chewing on some tall blades of grass growing along the edge.

He was as large as an adult, but his face still had a bit of the look of a kitten.  He was also quite thin, so Pat offered him some leftover grilled chicken and a little 1% milk in a saucer of water, and he devoured them.

While Pat and I worked outside that afternoon, the cat stayed nearby.  Occasionally he approached us and allowed us to pet him for a few moments, and at other times he napped on a large flat rock in the garden.  Around 5:00 he disappeared, but by noon the next day, he was back, establishing a pattern of coming and going that continued for the rest of the week.  It was as though we had phoned a temporary-help agency and asked them to send over a cat for the afternoon.  I began to call him our Kelly Temp Cat.

By the end of that week, we had concluded he wasn't just a neighborhood cat, but a stray in need of a good home, since he had no collar and clearly hadn't had enough to eat before finding us.  But our vacation was over; what were we going to do with him when we went back to work?

We began to keep him inside while trying to find him a home.  After several days without success, we decided that we didn't want this intelligent, athletic cat to be confined to a Humane Society cage (or worse), so we adopted him.  Chances are, though, that Kelly had already adopted us well before then.

WE KNEW IT wasn't good for Kelly to be alone in the house all day while we worked.  Soon, we visited a no-kill shelter named Animals In Distress, and Pat chose a small, pretty calico/tabby mix who had been abandoned out in the country with her littermates, then rescued from some sadist who intended to use them for target practice.

As a result of her experiences, the cat was very frightened when we brought her home and spent the first day and a half hiding inside the box spring in the spare bedroom.  She is still skittish at times, but has steadily improved since joining our family.  Pat named her Lizzie, short for Elizabeth Bennet, a name bestowed with some pride and some prejudice.

SOME MONTHS LATER, Good Mews, a cat rescue organization, held an adoption day at a local Petco store.  Pat and I got to the store just before it opened, and while the rest of the half-dozen or so customers crowded around the kittens, we scanned the adults and almost simultaneously spotted a thin, quiet calico with large green eyes, a beautiful face, and the name "Tinkerbell" on her cage.

This cat was estimated to be a year old, and had a clean bill of health and a good disposition that would allow her to easily fit in both with us and with Kelly and Lizzie.  That was what Pat and I were hoping to hear, and we immediately applied for her.

Later that afternoon, we learned that we'd been approved, and the next day, Good Mews delivered the little cat to her new home.  We'd already planned to name her Caitlin, and decided to add Belle from the name given to her by Good Mews.  "Caitie-Belle" sounds good and it gives her a name that is as unique as she is.

WE USED TO THINK that 3 Good Cats were enough.  Then one day, a little guy came along who changed our minds -- Nicky.

Digital photography:  Many thanks to Jack F. Grover and his marvelous Sony Mavica; both courtesy of Visual Sound.  Also see Jack's photos of his pride-and-joy collies at Keystone Collie Club.

Other tools and enablers:  About.com (Thanks, Franny!  You're great!), the I-Love-Cats' Directory Of Cat Web Sites (3 Good Cats are pretty fond of you guys, too!), and Dynamic Drive, which provided the nifty free JavaScript marquee.

Thank-yous also go to Paint Shop Pro, NoteTab, 1st Page 2000, Spybot -- Search & Destroy, and of course, the folks who allow me to use this sliver of cyberspace.

Good Cats for a good cause:  3 Good Cats, along with 25 other photogenic felines, are included in a screen saver created to raise funds for Britain's largest veterinary charity, the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals.  The registration code is provided free for all who spend at least $15.00 at Catsup's shop.
 
We are honored that Diabella Loves Cats has chosen 3 Good Cats as its Site of the Month for September 2003, and we're happy to link the award below to Diabella's site, where animal welfare is a top priority.  In particular, you can read about Ginny, the dog who rescues cats, and contribute to The Ginny Fund.

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Copyright © 1996-2007 John E. Moore.  All rights reserved.