A few days ago, while shoveling snow from my driveway, I saw a flash of orange near the shed at the end of my carport. It was a cat -- a very young cat. I put my shovel down and stroked her fur. She seemed friendly and healthy, just a little thin. I wondered where she had come from. Before long, I had my answer. With a cunning maneuver between the loosely closed door and the doorjamb, she slipped into my shed. Or, should I say, she slipped BACK into my shed.
Upon inspection, I found a rudimentary nest had been fashioned from some lawn chair covers and sporting equipment. It looked well used and was lined with a light coating of orange fur. I may never know where she "came from" initially (subsequent days of searching the neighborhood and watching the "lost pet" ads indicated she was not missed), but I know where she lives now. Apparently, I have been adopted.
The Big Chill The day the kitten (whom I am tentatively calling "Marmalade" at this writing) found me, I was shoveling snow for what must have been the eighth or tenth time this season. Usually one can't count on snow shoveling as a total replacement for upper body strength training where I live, but it's been a particularly harsh winter so far in the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures have hovered in the single digits, snowfalls have broken records in many areas, and icy conditions have led to accidents and road closures.
It was after many weeks of this inclement weather that Marmalade made her presence known. Such a tiny thing, she was, and the weather was so very, very cold. I set about finding her food and shelter. By nightfall, she had consumed one small can and one large scoop of cat food and was ensconced in relative comfort in fleece-blanket-lined box in the same shed.
Why didn't I take her indoors? Well, that gets complicated. You may think I'm nuts, but some pet owners will understand the following confession: I couldn't break the promise I had made to my other cat.
Ming's Dynasty Some 8 years ago, when I adopted Ming the Siamese, she was a full-grown, age-indeterminate feline whose previous owner had to get rid of her because Ming allegedly picked fights with the other cats. "She's the troublemaker of the bunch," they told me, "She just HATES other cats." I've always been more of a dog person myself, and have never had more than one cat at a time, so I figured I could provide a good home for her. Indeed, Ming and I have shared countless hours in my recliner, with her on my lap and a good book in my hands. She holds her own with my dogs and visiting dogs, and even seems to enjoy their company if they're not too pushy. (She's been known to give my Irish wolfhound puppy a few smacks in the face for turf violation, see photo.) But other cats? That's another story.
Ming is primarily an indoor cat, but she does utilize my dogs' pet door to go outside when the spirit, or a tempting sunbeam on the deck, moves her. The few encounters she has had with other cats over the years -- ranging from yard encounters to visiting kitties to one particularly confident little black Tom who came IN the dog door -- have proven to me that her previous owners were right. Ming HATES other cats.
A Win-Win Compromise? Enough days have passed that it's pretty clear I have a new cat. There has been no response to the flyers I posted within a 3-block radius of my house and at the local grocery and hardware stores. I've decided to try what, for me, is a totally new approach to cat ownership. Marmalade is going to be an outdoor cat. I know darn good and well many cats and dogs live outdoors year-round, but none of MY dogs and cats have ever been outdoor animals. I'm making this decision based on three factors: (1) The weather has warmed a bit; (2) I did some Internet research about outdoor pets and I feel I can meet her needs; and (3) she seems way better off living in my shed than wherever she came from.
Oh, yes, and there's a fourth factor. That danged Ming. I have no doubt that she and Marmalade will have a face-off at some point in the future, probably this spring in my garden (kitties love freshly turned earth). But by that time, I'm hoping Marmalade will be firmly ensconced as my Outdoor Kitty and Chief Mouser, and Ming will be content to continue her longtime role as Lap Sitter and Chief Canine Disciplinarian, and they can each reign over their separate domains. Who knows, maybe the elder kitty will have even mellowed by then and the new kid can spend some time indoors. But I'm not going to push it. After all, I made a promise.
Sally O'Neal is a lifelong pet owner who lives in Washington State. She has been a travel, outdoor, and human interest writer for 15 years and written for sportsmansguide.com since 2000. Next week, she'll share her research on caring for outdoor pets.