As I was trying to get out my article on Yuri Umemoto’s music, I was also in the midst of rescuing a cat I’d taken notice of some week prior. I first saw him in the parking lot of a local Food Lion, around 10 o’clock at night on my way home. Usually I’d go by the local Kroger, but when I realized that the Food Lion was also open until 11 pm and was closer I stopped there instead. That’s when I saw this malnourished white cat, scampering along in the parking lot, dodging cars and desperately trying to find something to eat. I happened to have a little cat food with me- normally I don’t carry cat food, but I was almost out of food for my cat, and had borrowed some from my girlfriend- so I decided to try to give him some. There was something about this cat I know not what, but I felt an immediate compulsion to help him.
He was very skittish at our first encounter, which was no surprise. He ran to cover underneath a nearby car. I was terrified that he might be accidentally run over, but luck or divine grace was with us that night. I put a little meal next to the car and backed off, going inside to get the few items on my list. When I came back he was still there, and the food was gone, which was a good sign. Still I could not get him to come out from underneath the car, so reluctantly I left. I left with the resolution to come back every night at about the same time until I could build up trust. I prayed that he would be safe and was also terrified that I would find his corpse on the side of the road. That area has absolutely horrible traffic, and people there speed and drive so recklessly as to make one wonder whether they are humans at all, but rather demonic specters, transformed by the machine into the inhuman.
I came back the next night, and he was not there. I hoped that perhaps some kind person had also taken pity on him and rescued him and also feared the worse. Again and again, night after night, I drove through Food Lion’s asphalt wasteland but still didn’t see him. Then, one night when there were thunderstorms in the area, and I almost had given up, there he was. He seemed to recognize me, but he was still skittish and wouldn’t come too close. I’d brought more food, and he was clearly hungrier than he was when last I saw him. He was chowing down on the meager remains of some fast food that had been discarded on the pavement. I sat and waited. He came closer, but not within reach, and slunk back underneath a nearby car. A large grasshopper landed nearby. He went into hunting mode, attempting to snag a meager meal. He caught it, and took his prey another car. It began to rain. I couldn’t leave him out in the rain, but neither could I get within arms’ reach of him. The owner of the car, a young woman, came out of the grocery store, and I let her know that he was underneath. She called to him and was very sweet, but he darted from underneath hers to an adjoining vehicle. A storm was closing in, and I also worried that our little cat and mouse game would end badly for him. I have to say though that most people driving up and seeing me near him were gracious and understanding and cut us both a wide berth. It gave me hope that perhaps he could hang in there until I or someone else could save him.
I kept coming in the following days, but didn’t see him. Then, finally, one Wednesday night, there he was. I had some treats and a kitty carrier in tow. This time he came up to me with little hesitation. I gave him some treats, which he gobbled up. Then I realized that I’d brought too little. He was clearly in distress. He was more malnourished than when I’d first seen him, and he needed help at once. So, I went into Food Lion and bought some actual wet food for him. When I came out, he was laying nonchalantly in the middle of the road between the parking spaces, and my heart stopped because I realized that if someone came tearing down the road, he’d be in great peril. I picked up my pace nearly running towards him. He got up, but didn’t run from me. In fact, he followed me to where my car was. I opened one of the cans of wet food, and he came and ate as if he hadn’t eaten in days. From the looks of him he hadn’t. Carefully, I took the kitty carrier out from my car and placed it on the ground. He didn’t run. I took some more food and placed it in the back of the carrier, and he got in so hungry was he. I closed the door behind him, gently put him in the car and took him from that infernal hell of hot pavement, bright lights, and loud machines.
On the drive back, he was mostly calm and quiet. He meowed a few times, but in general he seemed to relax. We identified him as a flamepoint Siamese. My present living arrangements, however, are not suitable to having more than one cat. One cat is stretching it. So, I would need to find him a home. I sent out pictures and messages to most everyone I knew who would have an interest or know what to do next. In the worse case, I could take him to the animal shelter, or so I thought. I’d already done a little research and thought I could find a no kill place for him more easily than it would turn out to be. Even the local animal shelter informed me that they only housed dogs, not cats. I’d taken him off the streets, perhaps saving him from a terrible death by car or starvation or another animal only for him to die sooner. That was unacceptable, but I didn’t have many options. There was another shelter just for cats in a neighboring county, but they were not easy to reach, and as I came to learn, nearly all shelters are seriously overpopulated.
I have always loved animals. Despite receiving a pretty severe dog bite when I was five- or was it six?- I adore dogs and cats equally. Yet, I cannot wrap my head around the levels of animal neglect and cruelty within my own community. Animals above all are the most innocent. They did not ask to be put in this world, and they are to be taken care of with love and kindness in a world that humans continue to mold into something that seems to possess a hatred of life itself. I am done with my sermon.
Help did come in the form of my girlfriend’s boss. A great lover of cats, he kindly took him in. It was a bit heartbreaking to let him go. Not going to lie. I took him over to her house Thursday night and snuggled with him in the bathroom for a long while, though not quite long enough. There never is enough time for such things. I also felt a little guilty that perhaps I’d neglected my own cat in all this though last night he got on the bed and snuggled with me. In any case I think we decided to name him Pyr, because that what he responds to, and because he resembles our Great Pyrenees, Honey Bear.
While her boss is fostering him, I am making preparations for him to be neutered. I’ve already taken him to the vet, and with the exception of missing a rear claw, possibly the result of a fight, he is in good health. To be honest I have mixed feelings about having him neutered. He is a beautiful cat especially in terms of his temperament. Flamepoints are also a highly desired breed due to their high intelligence and sweet natures. It would be a shame for his genes not to be passed down. At the same time though, animal overpopulation is such a dire problem, largely because of ignorant and thoughtless pet owners, that I think it’s for the best. It’s especially sad in that it is so easy to have one’s pets neutered or spayed. Free vouchers are readily available, so there’s really no excuse. All in all though, I am so very thankful I managed to rescue this sweet boy from such dire straights. Perhaps I will tell the story of how I got my sweet kitty Hawk last year.
We will returned to out regularly scheduled programming next week. I have been thinking quite a bit about music, social class, and gatekeeping and am working on an article about that.
Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you all are having a great week!
Roundup