Interviewing Cats, Part II

A few weeks passed and no cat appeared; not that we did anything to make it happen.  If you have lived for 20 years without a cat, another day of living without a cat doesn't seem too difficult, or even particularly noticeable.  When a cat is being obtained because of a child, the child is happy to remind you every twenty minutes.  "I thought we were going to get a cat today, Mom..."  And you get around to finding a cat so you don't have to be the constant source of disappointment.  But I am not disappointed; just mildly anticipatory of the possible grey cat I may soon see.

I mention the future cat to our knowledgeable friend and she assures me she has not forgotten, offers us the possibility in a few weeks of a kitten that is being raised for a bit by others and who needs to get past a cold before it can be transferred to a new home.  Kittens are charmers, of course, just as are puppies and babies of any kind.  Actually, probably better to stay away from natural charmers, I think.  I write my older daughter again.  What about a kitten? I ask her.  She writes back promptly and, as she herself is currently fosterparenting four kittens, she is absolutely on top of the relevant issues.  She writes me back: "Mom, not a kitten, I think.  Not for you.  They are into everything; they are trying to drown themselves in the toilet.  They knock everything off of everything.  They will be into your yarn in ways you will not be happy with.  A nice older cat would be better.  Especially one that will be hard to adopt because of its age.  You'll be doing it and the shelter a favor."

I tell our knowledgeable friend what my daughter says I want because my daughter is doubtless right.  I am trusting that this older cat will be named Charles or willing to be renamed Charles.

A few days go by and the friend emails us with the news that there is an older cat that needs a home on the Point.  It is black, rather than grey, however.  The more serious downside is that the cat has had a bad experience with a raccoon, probably, and has lost its tale tail to the encounter.  It has had surgical intervention and is now healed but is rather traumatized by the experience.  It is in a foster home and we are invited to go visit it.  We gear ourselves up for a morning cat visit and begin our first attempt at cat interviewing.

(The end of Part II)