Two Cats Plus One Cat Somehow Equals Four

At our house, we recently went from being owned by a pair of cats to being under the paws of a feline foursome.

But we officially adopted one additional cat. The fourth one stopped by for a meal, and never left. Similar to a lazy, broke relative with a practiced eye for a nice place to rest and a belly full of free food. 

We adopted mom’s kitty, because the idea of turning her over to a shelter was something neither of us could handle. She’s a sweet but shy kitty, somewhat traumatized by being alone so much while mom was sick. A very good petsitter was taking care of her, but it’s not the same as having your owner around all the time to hand out stinky kitty treats and provide hours of petting every day. So she is with us now, isolated at first in the home office, but getting out more and more each day. I have to say that Kitty is not afraid to stand her feline ground with our other two, and let them know that they aren’t all that. Or course, the fact that Kitty is a long-haired domestic makes a difference. She looks like the product of an encounter between a Persian and a Maine Coon: very fluffy, with big paws and long whiskers.

And then there is Big Red, a neighborhood bully-turned-softie who begged for food one day, and because we’re a pair of weak sisters, we gave him some of the good stuff (the specialty kibble from the vet that costs big bucks for a tiny bag). And now he has no reason to leave. The four-legged freeloader is quite happy to snooze under the garage window shutter, on a nice little towel bed we made for him that is hidden behind a low hedge.

It’s not the first time a local stray has adopted us. Two years ago, a black cat named Boo thought we were an easy mark, and of course we were. So Boo became a member of the family for quite a while.

I think the herd of cats we have is a blessing. It’s a way to keep busy by taking care of animals who need us. I’m just hoping The Husband and I don’t become known as “the crazy cat people” on the street. It might bring the nice folks from The Discovery Channel to our door. I can hear it now: “We’d like to film you for one of our shows. It’s about people who really love animals. Maybe you’ve heard of it. It’s called ‘Hoarding: Buried Alive by Cat Hair’…”