Sunday, January 30, 2011

Cat Returns from the Dead

"Spitter's back," my husband e-mailed me at work. "What?" I replied, "He's been gone for years, you must be mistaken!" No, he described the cat in detail, right down to the swirled patterns on his side rather than the typical tabby stripes. He was looking good, fat and fluffy, obviously well cared for.

His name is Spitter. He is the baby of a stray mama that came to visit and presented us with several cute baby kits. I let them live on the font porch in an oversized igloo doghouse. We have a really big porch, nine feet wide and spans the whole front of the house, so there was plenty of room. One of the little guys was spunky right from the start. Eyes still closed he would hiss whenever I decided to pick him up and cuddle with him. This little bitty, inches long, blind kitty. All I could do is laugh. "I'll name you Spitter!" I said.

As happens with stray cats, he was with us for awhile until one day he didn't come back. There are many coyotes and other dangers out here. It's always a bit sad but I can't save them all. From time to time we would see a dark cat from a distance. Last summer it came onto the property but much too far away to see details. I thought it looked like Spitter but one dark cat looks much like another from far away, and Spitter had been gone for quite some time.

I walked out onto the font porch a couple of days ago and there he was. Spitter returned from the dead, on life #8. He ran up to me and almost jumped into my arms- until the alpha male stray ran up. Then there was hissing and spitting on top of some really eerie noises that you wouldn't think would come out of a cat- a banshee perhaps, but not a cat.

I had to push the tricyle between them which scared Spitter. He was gone again-until tonight. I opened the front door and he was right there eating the dry catfood I put out twice a day for the cats, and raccoons, opossums, etc. He ran at first but came back and jumped up on me again wanting his back scratched and head rubbed. Definitely our little Spitter.

I don't know why he is here. I hope his new family is still around. So many people in our area are out of work and have had to abandon their pets because they can no longer feed them. I worry about the alpha cat too- he thinks I am "his" person. No other male cats can get near me if he's around and I'm not in a position to get him neutered right now. I hope it works out.

In the meantime I will keep my eyes out for a "lost kitty" sign and hope that he has a nice warm place to go tonight before the ice and snow starts. I must say it is nice to see him again.

~

3 comments:

TLW said...

Our little pug-chihuahua mix came from a shelter in Kentucky. It was filled to the brim with dogs and cats people could no longer afford to feed. We got her when our older dog passed and the younger dog was mourning him so much, he wouldn't eat. "Gigi" has made herself right at home. Sometimes I wonder about the folks who had to give her up. Hopefully, things have turned around some for them. Anyway, that's so cool that your little pal found his way back to you. I will keep you guys in my prayers that you "weather the storm" literally! I'm sure we're in for another dose of something any day now, hopefully not ice.
God bless

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

We've had up to 20 strays here. I made a deal with the local no kill shelter - they neutered them very cheaply and I promised to take them back home. I would like a little barn so they can go there, even the kind that hardware stores sell but we really can't afford it. I have 1 cat in the house now. I let 2 girls into the garage although my husband gets mad. They knock things off the shelves. Even though there is a litter box they sometimes go to the bathroom on his equipment. He won't allow any more in there.

Manny said...

That's a great little cat. Nice story.

If you would like to see a few pictures of our son, who was just adopted back in September, go to my blog under entry titled, "Matthew and the Pediatrician."