I love cats. The ferocious felines, natures perfect killing machines, the reason mice fear coming out of the ground and birds stay in the trees. The shoes in the living room, ever en garde or the dangly string hanging from your hoodie that you casually tossed over the chair. Eyes coming into view from the dark area under the table. Ah yes, cats. You can see my "perfect killing machine" found a sunbeam on the kitchen table with a soft banana "pillow" on which to rest his tired head. I suspect he wore out from the intensity of the hunting trip from one end of the house to his bowl of food at the other end.
In honor of Adopt-a-Pet month, I'd like to introduce my cat, Wilson. He's a rescue cat. My wife found him online during a search a couple years ago. We missed the interview window by a few minutes but called anyway. We were accepted but Wilson was in Tillamook, Oregon, almost four hours from where we live. Up for the adventure, my wife offered to drive there to pick him up while I stayed home with the kids.
Wilson and I bonded immediately though I must confess, a little to the disappointment of my wife. She was hoping he would be a cat that like her and the kids and, well he does tolerate them.
I couldn't ask for a better cat. He took to the harness immediately, which allows me to take him outside a couple times a day, every day if possible. Except winter. He hates snow and cold. Wilson loves to run up trees, which is really fun to watch but convincing him to come down is often a bit more difficult. When he's interested, he is quite the mouser. His wild heritage definitely shows around prey and other animals, like our neighbors 60 lb. dog that thought he was "all that" when Wilson and I were on a walk around the yard. There was no damage, but it was obvious who ran the neighborhood and it wasn't the dog.
We pieced together Wilson's story as best we could. We know he was on his own for about a year and a half. It appears he was visiting the area as a kitten with his owners but got away from them. At some point, they had to go home, leaving him to live on his own. One of them inquired about him before leaving, but she didn't leave contact info. Even though he had a chip, it was never activated, leaving no way to find his original owners.
Sometime later, a resident noticed Wilson hanging around his house. Though he tried to take him in, the fellow also owned a dog. Wilson made it clear there wasn't room for the two of them, so Wilson was relegated to the outside again. It was this fellow that gave Wilson his name, likely from the movie reference. One day, when Wilson was wandering around, an employee from the local shelter saw him and caught him. And that's where our story begins. I admit, I'm glad I have him. We have a great time.
June is recognized by the American Humane Society as "Adopt-a-Cat" Month. If you are looking for a cat or a dog to add to your household, let me strongly encourage you to adopt your new family member from a shelter. We all know that shelters are overrun by pets that for whatever good or bad reasons, could no longer be kept with their previous families. Kittens are cute and often go quickly, leaving the older cats in the cages. Senior cats are older, often making them less interesting to adopt. It's an emotional rollercoaster that even I don't often want to think about, but I do know that you can make an incredible difference in a sheltered pet that in return, will make an incredible difference in your life.
Wilson isn't my first rescue. I love being able to give him a great home, as I did with the others. I would totally be the male version of the "crazy cat lady" if I could. :)
Though June is the official month to adopt, you don't have to wait. Pets are available just about anytime throughout the year. Imagine the difference you can make! Imaging the love you will receive. Please consider adopting your next pet.
