Once upon a time, there was a
lonely little cat, who had no home, no name, no one to love him. Despite the
fact that he was a beautiful cat, no one would keep him for long. Of the people that did take him in, they soon
discovered that he was unaltered and that being the male that he was he would
spray furiously all about their homes.
Because of his natural habit of
seeking mates and spraying on nearly everything, No Name was cast out into the cold world from one home or another
again and again to fend for himself. As he wandered about looking for a place
to call his permanent home, he would sometime meet people nice enough to feed him, but sometimes he met people
who were not so nice and they would place him
on the enclosed porches of other people. Then on the next day they would sit back laughing and watching as
these other people tried to find the source of the bad smell.
This was the nature of No Name's life, until one day he wandered to the home of a
kindly old couple, who liked feeding the stray cats in their area and had two
cats of their own. This elderly couple were known by many of the neighboring
cats as the people with big hearts and whenever possible they would try to find
the lost cats owners and if this failed,
they would send the lost cats to a shelter for possible adoption.
Well, No Name seemed to like the old couple and the food they provided everyday so much that
he hung around their house for a month before they realized that No Name was a cat without a home of his
own. Night and day the elderly couple would see No Name outside, sleeping on their lawn, trying to catch the birds
and wild ducks. No matter what the
weather they always saw him out and alone.
Then, one day, it was determined
that No Name had decided that he
wanted to stay with the elderly couple and their two cats. Because they
discovered him seated on the sidewalk at the bottom of their porch stairs with
two other cats hissing and performing all kinds of intimidating dance moves designed to frighten
No Name away, the couple were amazed
and impressed by the outcome of this terrifying display of feline virility.
During the whole ordeal, No Name was determine not to go
anywhere, and through what seemed like an eternity (perhaps 2 to 3 minutes) of
hissing, growling, and erratic dancing, No
Name calmly sat until the other cats tired themselves and left. No Name
had won the day but more importantly, himself a new home.
At this time in the story the
elderly couple did not know No Name
had come to stay. However, they were so moved by his bravery and the fact he
was obviously a lost cat that they brought him into their home with the intent
of finding his owners. They reported him
to all their local animal shelters as a found cat, and let him sun on the porch
seal with their other cats each morning and evening. They also bathed him, fed
him, and medicated him against Feline leukemia.
The elderly couple cared for No Name for a month, but no one ever
came or called for him. The elderly couple then had a decision to make. What to
do with No Name. After living with the elderly couple and
their two female cats (spayed), the couple admitted that No Name had brought more than the stinky musk of his spraying, but
he and their two cats had liven up the household with their antics. It was nice
that all three cats got along without any terrible fights.
So the couple decided to keep No Name. They then called the shelters
and told them No Name would be
staying.
The elderly couple was surprised
to discovered that No Name was no
ordinary cat but one of two in a special breed of cat called a Snowshoe. The
cats are named this because of their Siamese and American Shorthaired
background. The couple then took him to
the vet for an exam to which he was pronounced in good health and then he got
his routine shots, rabies vaccine, and
license tag.
More importantly, besides his
vaccines, tags, and a new home, No Name got something just as important
... he got himself a name.
So this was the story of a cat
once known as No Name and how he won
a home, but is now and forever known as Samuel
T. Winston-Fain, and simply Sam
by his new family.
Epilogue:
To the disappointment of all his
adoring queens, and to stop his spraying and the stinky musk that comes along
with it, Sam will be neutered soon.
This
has been a story of love.
