There was a black and white cat in the neighborhood for years. Every time she would see me, she would run. I had tried several times to befriend her and feed her, but she was just to scare and would run away.
That is until Halloween night 2013. My neighbor's cat Kat came over followed by a cat I had called Kat's Kitten. I fed Kat and Kat's Kitten hung around and I was able to feed her without her running away. She kept her distance, but didn't run. We were finally making progress.
She would come around more often for food, but always at a distance. You could tell she hadn't eaten a good meal in a long time and she was sick. She had runny eyes and nose and sneezed like crazy.
The weather started getting colder and I got the huts all set up just encase she decided to stay. She stayed and kept warm in the hut. Her health started to improve with regular meals.
Gradually I was able to pet her. During this time, there was a lot of blood shed. I went through a lot of cursing and band-aids, but she learned to trust me more and more.
It was around this time I decided she needed a name besides Kat's kitten. Most names just didn't fit and we ended up with Kitty.
I wanted her to come in, but the problem was Ralphy and Yipper. I knew Ralphy wouldn't be a problem, but Yipper would be. I would hold the door open a bit so Kitty could look in and Ralphy could look out. Kitty being the little bitch she was, would swat at Ralphy. Being the good boy he is, Ralphy would swat back, but think it was play time. Yipper didn't want any parts of this.
When Ralphy & Yipper were sleeping, I would hold the door open for Kitty, inviting her in. She was interested, but hesitant to come in. I think she was fearful of Ralphy. Then one day, she decided to run in. She ran around the house, scare and right out the back door. I was disappointed, but happy. We were making more progress.
Then one night when I came home, she greeted me at the front door. I opened the door and in she ran. This was the first night she spent in.
It was touch and go until the first bad cold snap of this winter. She came in and would only go out on the back deck with me and then in.
Her and Ralphy got along quite well, which I knew they would. Yipper and her not so much. Which I knew they wouldn't. But would with time. And in time, they did. They started to run and play with one another.
We kept working on our trust of each other. Neither one of us trusting the other 100%, but we were close. She would greet me at the door when I came home for lunch and after work. She had a habit of jumping up for pets and if I didn't bend down quick enough for her, she would twirl around on her hind legs like, 'look at me. Aren't I just too cute? I know you want to pet me.' And I would laugh and give her lots of pets.
Kitty was not meant to be a totally inside kitty. As the temperatures warmed and the sun shone, she wanted out. When I came home for lunch, she greeted me half way down the sidewalk, meowing, standing and walking in front of me. She would then come in and join me on the couch for a nice petting.
Kitty went out the morning of March 21, 2015 and I haven't seen her since. My heart is breaking. I am constantly looking for her. I've called animal control. I've call the shelter. I've been to the shelter when they said they had a cat just brought in from my area that resembled her description. It wasn't her. Both animal control and the shelter have her on the lost and found list. They have my number just encase.
My friend keeps telling me she'll come home, but with every day that passes, my hope that she will diminishes. She was becoming a pampered puss. She liked being inside on crappy days. We've had rain, snow and cold temperatures since then.
My heart is breaking for a lot of reasons. I had hoped that she would become an inside kitty. We had come so far trusting each other. Not knowing where she is. Is she okay? And the saddest part for me is, I don't even have a picture of her. I do on my cellphone, but it is one of the cheapy trac phones and I don't know how to transfer the picture to my computer.
I miss my Kitty. Ralphy misses her too. Even Yipper has looked around for her.
Not knowing if she is okay or not is the worst. I tell myself she will come home, but in my heart, I know that's not true. She would have come home by now if she could.
I also tell myself that if she doesn't come home, at least she was able to experience, probably for the first time in her life, warmth, friendship and contentment. But most of all, she experienced love. And she was loved...