Recently I almost became a mother. A new young beauty has moved into the neighborhood, an Egyptian Mau. It looks to be less than a year old. This one is light grey with the characteristic black spots but also has a black stripe down its back with a serpentine design.
This small elegant creature came to greet me one mid-morning as I went to fetch my mail. The little thing seemed starved for affection as I petted it. But after retrieving my mail it was nowhere in sight.
As I was writing away in my home office I heard a meowing. The cat was in my garage! I opened the door to release it; but instead it ran back into my house and made itself at home. I gave him/her a name, I call it Sneaky!
Sneaky started climbing up my stairs. I grabbed the cat and told it, "You need to go home!" But I wondered if it had one.
As I carried it out thru the garage it clung tightly to me as if it didn't want to leave. I placed it gently down on my driveway and told it, "Stay there". The kitty stared up at me with sad eyes as I quickly departed and closed the door.
I refer to the cat as "IT" because I don't know the gender. My previous one was a big Tom. Once I was petting him along with my dog (a Chihuahua-Terrier mix) I had both side-by-sides on their backs. Their sex organs looked identical although the cat was male and the dog female.
I've been asking around the neighborhood as to the origin of this cat. One told me it was a stray, another claimed it had an owner somewhere around here but they knew not where.
None of my previous cats (all indoor/outdoor) were rovers; always they stayed close to the property. Of course mine were so well fed, had so many toys, comfortable places to sleep, and were showered with such loving attention that they had no desire go searching for another owner.
Often when I'm outside I see this cat from a distance. Whenever it spots me it starts heading in my direction. And I quicken my steps to get back indoors.
Years ago I would have taken it in and adopted this cat. However at this stage of my life, I can't handle the added expense. Back in 2002 it cost $100 just to set foot inside a veterinarian's office. And now I'm struggling and juggling to pay my own medical bills!
My age too is a factor. An animal could easily outlive me. Or I could suddenly end up in the hospital for lord knows how long and then be forced into a nursing facility or a retirement home. Sadly, there are too many negative variables here for me to even consider it.
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