This story was originally published on my vet school blog, “Wet Cleanup on Aisle 5.”
At what point is crazy cat ladydom achieved? Greater than three cats per individual? Is it the number of cats that seals the deal, or is it your level of slavish devotion to them? Angela Martin of “The Office” licking her cat = definite crazy cat lady material. Me… well, I’m not quite there yet. But I’m about to take a step in that direction.
A few years ago, I paid a visit to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in southern Utah, the nation’s largest no-kill shelter. It’s located in a beautiful red rock canyon, and on any given day is home to about 2,000 animals. Visitors can take tours of the sanctuary and see DogTown (of National Geographic series fame) and Kittyville, among other things.
Being a cat person, I was especially interested in seeing Kittyville, which is sort of like cat paradise. Cats have large indoor areas with plenty of snuggly spots, and access to large outdoor enclosures–complete with climbing towers and catwalks crisscrossing here and there.
Upon walking into one of these enclosures, I spied a beautiful tabby up on a catwalk. “Hello, handsome,” I said.
I squatted to pet a few other kitties, but the tabby came down from the rafters, made a beeline for me, and jumped onto my shoulders. He then wormed his way onto my knees, pushing other cats out of the way.
“Mr. Tabby!” exclaimed one of the sanctuary volunteers. “I’ve never seen him do that before. He’s kind of shy.”
I spent all of five minutes with this cat, but I was totally smitten.
The reason I didn’t just pack him up and bring him home right then was my current cat, Mandu. Her health hasn’t been the greatest of late. She also seems to like having me all to herself, and over the years, I’ve had to exercise a lot of self-restraint by not scooping up every homeless cat that crossed my path. When you’re in the veterinary business, that’s a lot of cats! Mandu’s a great cat, and I wanted to respect her wishes. But Mr. Tabby was the one I could never get out of my mind.
About a month ago, I was browsing Best Friends’ website and noticed they’d added a new section, “Adoptable Pets.” I had checked for Mr. Tabby on their site several times before and never found him, but that’s because they used to feature just a few adoptable pets on their site, rather than listing all of them. Now, they have them all online. And after three years, Mr. Tabby is still there.
So here’s where the crazy cat lady part comes in. First, I checked with my awesome animal communicator friend, Terri O’Hara, to see about Mandu’s perspective. (And yes, I know most veterinary folks think animal communication is nuts. Well, maybe they should try it and rethink the possibilities. Read this post for more.) Mandu gave a reluctant paws up. Terri then checked in with Mr. Tabby, who said he gets plenty of food and kindness at Best Friends, but that he has no real joy in his life, and he doesn’t like living with so many cats. Could I please come and get him right now?
Well, that did it. I can’t just leave him there! I submitted my adoption application to Best Friends. Once they give the go ahead, I am going to drive 26 hours to rescue a cat. There are about 80 bazillion cats in need of homes who live within 30 minutes of here (not to mention I volunteer for a cat rescue!), and instead I’m going to drive across two states to adopt a cat I met three years ago for all of five minutes. And I am so excited!
That, my friends, is crazy cat lady material.
Just read a few of yor posts including the story of the raccoon. I would say you are going back to school for all the right reasons!