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Free Room and Board

Posted on by andrealeclair
Indy
Indy

This is Indy. He saw the sign outside our house that says, “Free Room and Board for All Cats, Generous Meal Plan.” He is the fourth stray, lost, abandoned or otherwise homeless cat to appear at our door.He’d disappear for a few days, fight with various other creatures, make grumpy faces at other stray cat currently deciding whether or not our yard was territory he should annex, and meow at the porch door until he was fed. On some of the coldest nights, if he was around, we’d scoop him up and put him in the entryway overnight (our entryway sees a lot of animal visitors, about as much as the bathroom downstairs, one of the few rooms in our house with an actual door.) His nickname was Interloper, because that was how the other cats seemed to regard him when he showed up on the porch, meowing up a storm.

Then one day, he turned up much earlier in the evening than we usually saw him, limping, bleeding, and generally worse for the wear. He got some basic first aid and an appointment with the vet the next morning, who confirmed it looked like he’d either been attacked by some wildlife or had a very terrible fight with another cat. So into the bathroom he went, for recuperation and to wait for his appointment to be neutered.

He was friendly but scared, uncertain about what being in a house meant, unsure around people and generally nervous. Months later, he’s a giant cuddler, a super charmer to the existing cats in the household, sensitive, sweet, and still an incredibly loud meower. He loves the dog, and he loves to play – he’s quite a bit younger than everyone else, so sometimes his wild side causes some strife, but he’s also started grooming any cat who will let him. He is determined to fit in, and he’s made a much faster turnaround from a stray to a comfortable house cat than I could have expected.

Now if only we could figure out how to turn off that sign.