Katie

This is Katie, the cat I thought I killed with the grill brush. Fortunately, she just moved down the complex and has been living on the patio of another apartment. If only we knew the backgrounds of the dogs, cats, and other animals who end up living on their own. When we took her to be spayed, the vet saw a scar and said that more than likely she had already been spayed and reversed the anesthesia. She had the shots that they provide at the low cost spray and neuter program at the local humane society. And now she's back on her patio, at least with food and water and shelter in the form of a big heavy plastic bag that a comforter came in. She curls up in it to sleep and always heads for it with the first drops of rain.

I wonder who goes to the trouble of having a cat spayed and then deserts her. In this rural area, I really don't think anyone is trapping cats, having them sprayed or neutered, and releasing them. She has spent time peering into at least three patio doors in this complex, and that makes me think someone moved without her. When my neighbor who pays the rent for the patio that Katie now calls her own opens the patio door, Katie will go in a few feet but returns to the door to go right back out. She will now allow herself to be picked up and petted, so there has been some progress. There is, however, the matter of claws and furniture, and I'm not sure my neighbor is willing to sacrifice her furniture. I'm very sure that I won't subsidize declawing.

Cold weather will soon be here, and I hope that a living creature will win out over an inanimate sofa. Don't worry though. Nagging is one of my best skills. :)