I legitimately think I could end up a crazy cat lady some day. No joke. Let me explain.
Tuesday at work my co-worker Melani told me she heard a cat outside. I went to investigate and sure enough, I heard very loud meowing on the other side of the door. As soon as I opened the door and saw what was on the other side, I knew I was in trouble. Staring up at me was THE CUTEST grey kitten, freaking out because it was a.) cold and b.) starving. There was no turning back…I had to take action.
I scooped it up (at this point the sex was still unknown) and brought it inside. Only a few of us were left at work and no clients were there, so I knew it wouldn’t cause too much commotion. It was clear this was not a feral cat or a cat born in “the wild”, but more than likely was dropped off by some douchebag.
After discussing our options, my co-worker Darcy and I agreed I would take the kitten home for the night and we would both contact family, friends and shelters to find it the best home. Normally I would have just said, “BACK OFF IT’S MY KITTY NOW!” but my apartment building has a 2 cat limit and, as I think we all know, we’re already there.
So I brought the kitten home not knowing how my boys, Tyler and Joey, would react. I kept them separate while I set the kitten up with some food and water. They knew something was up and were NOT happy about it. Keeping them separated just wasn’t an option (my cats are insanely nosy and hate closed doors) so I just went ahead and let them figure each other out.
There was quite a bit of hissing and a few swipes from both sides. The funniest thing was this kitten started running shit around here. It walked in like, “This is MY house now, bitches.” Quite hilarious to witness.
Over the next 2 days this little thing literally stole my heart. The thought of giving it away was heart-wrenching. But I knew we couldn’t keep it and luckily Darcy found it a good home with her mom. Of course, I couldn’t let it leave without taking a few more glamour shots.
Oh, I finally determined the sex: it’s a girl! I now consider myself an expert on figuring out whether a cat is a boy or a girl, so if you ever find yourself in that…predicament, just call me 🙂
This whole situation really got me thinking about how much longer I want to rent. On one hand, I love our apartment. I love not having the responsibility of a house and I REALLY love that we’re so close to our favorite bars and restaurants and a Metro stop. But…I want like 6 cats and 4 dogs and (I guess) kids someday. But mostly just like 85 dogs and cats. Would that make me an animal hoarder? Because if it does, I think I’m ok with it.
Have you ever picked up a random cat or dog from the street?
A Leap Begins 
I’ve never actually picked on up, but I’ve TRIED to pick up a big black dog that was running around near a gas station. It was too fast for me, but I’m always on the lookout.
I wonder what the difference between animal lover and animal hoarder is but if you take care of those 85 dogs and cats, I think you’re in the clear. Plus, if you ever need help tending your herd, I’m totally in.
That kitten is adorable and I can see why you wouldn’t want to give her up!
I wouldn’t have a problem if you hoarded in the healthy saving a life way. It’s the creepy people you hear about on TV that scare me!
P.S. She is super stellar cute, I’d want to keep her too.
Ok. I may have said this in my cat post but I was told by a tongue-tied vet that you could tell a cat’s a boy because of the M-like pattern of it’s fur on it’s forehead. And so for like 10 years I considered myself some sort of cat-gender whisperer. I actually have no idea how you figured it out. Which is sad on my part.
ADORABLE Kitty by the way! I would have had a hard time parting with her too!
Ok, so you and I are getting a farm and just raising bajillions of dogs and cats. Maybe some horses if they need a home. And neither of us we’ll be crazy because we’ll be crazy together, so they cancel each other out..? Whatever. Done. Let’s do it.
I so want in on this!
Em – I totally picked up a stray cat a month or two ago and tried to save it! I was leaving the grocery store and heard meowing. I looked over to find this adorable black and white cat (maybe 2 years old) just sitting in the middle of the parking lot. I started to coax her (I like to think it was a little girl), and she came right up to me and started rubbing my leg and purring. I too could clearly tell she was someone’s cat that had either gotten out or was let out; definitely not a “wild cat”. Anyway, I called Steve in a panic like what do I do, this cat is sitting in a parking lot and is going to get run over! I ended up remembering there was an animal shelter very close to where I was, so I got her into the back seat of my car and took her over there. They weren’t even open yet, but I could see people inside so I was banging on the door. Finally they opened up, I explained what had happened and they told me they couldn’t take stray cats 😦 Apparently they are a shelter that only rescues pound animals that are about to be euthanized. I went to put her back into my car trying to figure out what to do, when she jumped out of my arms and ran off. So, I don’t know whatever happened to that little kitty, but I definitely tried to save her! I’m hoping she found her way back home, or that someone else who didn’t already have two cats found her and took her in 🙂
OMG how sweet is that little kitty?!! My parents just recently took in a stray that they started feeding. That brings their cat count up to 3. If you’re an animal hoarder, then I don’t know WHAT my husband is, because if it were up to him, we’d have 6 cats crammed into our small townhouse. Seriously though, that was definitely sweet of you to take her in! Glad she found a good home 🙂
I could totally be a cat hoarder, I can’t even go to PetSmart on adoption day b/c I want to bring home all the kitties (and a few of the dogs as well). I would have had a tough time giving it back as well. I suspect my two cats would be none too pleased if we brought them home a little brother or sister.
Uhmmm. I bring home dogs on the reg. The hubs is like, “Really Laura? A golden retriever? What do you think you’re going to do with this huge dog.” And I will sit outside with the dog loving it forever until I find the owner. I’ve honestly felt like freakin’ St. Nick himself when I have seen the smile on a child’s face. I’m a hero.
Oh.My.Gosh. This is ME! Except I’m in the dog form. My husband SWEARS that dogs know I’m in the area and I’m going to pick them up. But if they are near a street I freak out! And if they have no tags, even if they DO have tags I pick them up and take them to their home. It’s crazy, it’s like they flock to me, but I can’t say no. I would die if I saw a dog get hurt. Keep on keepin’ on! ha.
Oh my gosh, how adorable is she! You’re better than me, not keeping her! I’d say screw the rules of the apartment.
We had a cat adopt us a couple years ago. We took her in, tried to make her feel at home and even spent like $300 on the vet bills to get her spayed, vaccinated and tested for everything but after a couple months she was still not getting along with our pup. She hated her and would attack. We couldn’t live with them being separated, it wasn’t fair for either animal or us so we had to drop her off at a no-kill shelter in town. We couldn’t find anyone to take her (this happened like 6 months after moving to a new city) and it sucked, but at least we knew she’d be taken care of and wouldn’t end up being killed.
LOVE HER! And you are such a good soul to take her in. Some folks would have left her out there. I love that about you.
I’ll bring my cats over for a playdate and we’ll see how the five of them do. Spaz could surprise you….
That is such an adorable kitten! No wonder you were tempted to keep him.
And oh yeah, I totally could become an animal hoarder too! There are some stray cats that I sometimes see in the parking lot at work (my office is in a big industrial park next to a wildlife preserve, so I think they come from there), and whenever I see one while walking to my car at night, I start to slow down, considering…then snap myself back to reality. Our 3 cats are enough!
Ohhh how freaking adorable. I would have had a hard time parting with the kitty! 😦