Have you ever taken in a Stray?

One March, when I was a kid, my mother announced with certainty that a black leopard must have escaped from the zoo. It was prowling the woods behind our house.

The ahem - "black leopard" - was on our step the next day. Apparently, her size had been an optical illusion!

Her loud, sad, insistent meow resulted in my mom giving her tuna right away.

This stray Tortie seemed like a gift from heaven. At that very moment we had been dealing with a stubborn pack of mice in our crawl space for months.

Needless to say, she moved in and they moved out the same day.

Our dachshund learned very quickly that her soft fur was no place for a long pointy nose. One swipe was all it took. He spent the rest of his days charging up to her and turning round when he got within a foot of her.

We named her Katia – as a slight tribute to my mom’s childhood cat who was named appropriately just Cat.

This girl was a character that really enriched our lives. She patrolled the yard and no rodent was safe. My dad had to clean up many unpleasant remnants. 

She patiently raised a kitten we adopted a couple years later. 

At Christmas, warm tree lights led her to nap on top of wrapped gifts. She was dubbed the “Present Squasher”.

My mom got into a regular habit of giving her warm milk from the microwave. We were convinced she would ask for it with a meow that sounded like “MeiiiLK”. And no one could run the microwave eventually without giving her some.

She and my mom would sit watching TV and eating a whole tube of liverwurst… Isn’t it funny the things you remember?

She was our first family cat and she gave so much. It’s sad to think someone just dumped her because we are pretty sure that’s what happened. She lived about 14 full and happy years.

I’m so thankful that black leopard came to our door for her sake and all for all the cats we opened our hearts to over the years. Thanks so much Katia – You changed everything…

Can I help you remember a special animal?

Click here to learn more