Our Facebook friends already know this story, but we wanted to share it here as well. I posted this on Friday there:
We've all heard the "crazy old cat woman" stories, and this morning
Roger and I met one. We were out for our usual 7:00 am neighborhood
walk, when we noticed the saddest skinniest little cat on a driveway. It
looked so bedraggled and forlorn. I went over to it to pet it. I could
feel all of its bones. It had unbelievable crap in its eyes. It made me
feel so bad, we walked home fast, went to the market and bought two cans
of cat food. We drove back to the house to find the cat,
when the front door opened and the crazy old cat lady came out. Oh yes,
she has many strays she feeds. There were empty food bowls strewn about
the yard. I went into her back yard and several cats ran away, but the
skinny black one came over to me. I opened a can of food and fed it.
Roger stayed out front talking to the cat lady. Yes, she feeds them, but
definitely not enough. We're going to bring her a bag of kibble every
week, and I'm fighting the urge to go and get that skinny black kitty
cat and bring it home.
It received a lot of
good, kind, supportive, and thoughtful comments. One was from a woman we
know locally who recommended that we contact someone she knew who does
cat rescues around our neighborhood. She gave me her contact info; I
messaged her and so began a day of communication. She was out trapping
cats, dealing with kittens, and all kinds of other kitty cat issues. Her
work is full of kindness and support. She helps people get strays
neutered/spayed; she connects people who find cats in need of medical
support; she delivers food. She couldn't get over to the skinny cat's
house on Friday, so we promised we would head over there on Saturday,
bring more food and find out a little more details of what was going on
with the cats.
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| Skinny cat eating the kibble we had just brought over |
On Saturday, we learned that the old cat woman has
five cats, one is hers and four are strays. She feeds them all as best
as she can. She knows nothing of their histories, whether they need to
be neutered or spayed, if they've had their shots, etc. She was very
grateful for the food we had delivered.
We reported
that information to the helpful cat lady. She made it over to the old
woman's house on Sunday morning. She wrote me this note. I changed the
name to initials so as to keep the old woman's identity private:
Hi
Robin, I went by to see CB and the cats. I spent some time with them.
The cats that I saw are all elderly. I think they are too old for spay,
neuter. CB says she hasn’t ever had kittens, which tells me they are
most likely fixed. They seek shelter under her house, so that makes me
feel better. I think they could benefit from good cat food, and CB was
grateful to you for donating food to her cats. I agree, she’s a bit
limited by finances and energy (she’s in her 80’s.) The old black guy on
her porch is a lovely cat, he’s just very old, which is why his
appearance is a little alarming. I looked at him carefully, and his eyes
are goopy, but his nose is clear, which is a good sign. Rehoming him
would be too traumatizing to him at this age.
I
have to say I was so relieved that the skinny black kitty cat is really
too old to be rehomed. I was still fighting the urge to go and get him
Sunday morning. He really is very sweet. I posted this follow-up on
Facebook:
I would like to hope for every crazy old cat lady there's a good and
kind cat person who goes around neighborhoods trying to make life easier
for old strays and kittens. The latest update on the kitty cat saga is
that the skinny cat we saw last week is very old and would not benefit
from rehoming. His eyes are goopy but his nose is clear (doesn't that
sound like song lyrics?), which is good sign. The good cat lady spoke
with the old woman who was appreciative of the kibble we dropped off
yesterday morning. We will continue to supply food weekly. We are
relieved and our hearts are lightened by this news. Friends, if you see
an animal in distress please help when you can and find those with
hearts so big they do the real heavy lifting.
We went
to the store after getting the update and bought 12 cans of food and
another bag of kibble. We will help on a regular basis. I'm not a big
fan of outdoor cats and strays, but college towns often have issues like
this when students leave and people move on and let their kitty cats
stay behind. It's not their fault. So, we help as best we can. And,
that's our skinny kitty cat story.
