However his heart is finally showing signs of mending, slowly but surely. Recently, after months of rejecting my overtures, he began to speak of the possibility of new dogs. He's even looked at a few pictures of shelter dogs that I found promising. He mentioned various renovations that we need to do around the house and whether we should go some before others since they would interfere with pets.
But the most important sign of a healing heart has been a flirtacious game of - well, cat and mouse, that he's been playing with a local stray.
His family always had cats growing up. In fact, his dad still has a photo of the last family cat as the background image on his cell phone even though he died over three years ago. It's likely that we can't ever have cat because I'm allergic. (Also can't stand something that poops in a designated indoor box and whose food makes me vomit in my mouth. But really they do make me sneeze a lot).
The first time we spotted our little friend, he was sitting by Murphy's grave in our backyard (calm down, we only buried his ashes and have a nice plant as a headstone -we're not crazy!). The second time, he was there too. And the third and the fourth. One night we were sitting on the deck and we spotted him again - and the truth came out...he was convinced the cat had Murphy's spirit. (Yes, there was copious amounts of red wine involved, why do you ask?) Well, my heart broke and melted at the same time and I vowed I would be supportive and helpful in this little courtship.
But M2, as he's come to be called, or the Deuce (which I don't like as much because it sounds like poop) is fickle and untrusting and there's been little to no progress over the past few months. Every time we spot M2, my husband runs to the door and starts mewing like a madman - and the cat just runs away.
The other day I was home alone in the house and something caught my eye on our back deck:
(Please ignore the HORRIFIC chain link fence along our side yard which I swear will be replaced soon). There he was, asleep on our hot tub within a few steps distance of our back door. I was ecstatic. Later that night, he returned and sat on the deck looking in our TV room. He was hungry, my husband insisted, and I scrambled to provide tuna on some paper plates. He put the food on the deck and we sat inside and held our breath. And M2 came and ate and ran away again.
The next night, he appeared again. Just sitting on the deck looking down at his paws - he seemed somewhat despondent. We scrambled again and I grabbed some leftover salmon from the fridge. He ate again then ran to hide in the bushes.
Saturday was a busy day as I prepared for a week-long trip to New Jersey to help my mom after surgery. I headed to the grocery store to stock the house before I left - a bit of a tradition between my husband and me and one that brings me a bit of comfort before I leave - and we made the serious decision to commit. And commit I did - I bought a bowl and some cat food. We put the bowl on the deck that night and held our breath but he didn't show. It was suggested that feeding him leftover pecan-crusted salmon from Central Market might not have been the best idea and he was likely lying dead from a nut allergy somewhere in the neighborhood. I rolled my eyes and kept my thoughts to myself - this cat had managed to survive "on the streets" if you will, but my gourmet left-over salmon had killed him? I think not.
Later that night I realized that I was only going to get about two hours of sleep before the car came to pick me up at 6: 00 a.m. and I sat on the couch, tired, cranky and dreading the trip. Manbug was asleep and I was feeling lonely and afraid. And what did I see out of the corner of my eye. A feline shaped band-aid enjoying a feast out of his new bowl - he looked up, saw me and then kept on eating as if to say, "Baby steps...baby steps."
That is so sweet. And we've been convinced that new pets somehow inherited the spirit of departed pets before as well!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story! I've adopted more than one stray that way... the next step is to try and be outside while M2 is eating.
ReplyDeleteAnd although you may never bring M2 inside... one benefit of adopting a stray cat, is that they often don't like using the bathroom in a little box, or inside at all. growing up we had three cats that we adopted as strays and they all wanted to go outside to potty. Just like a dog. They would stand by the door and meow and meow until you let them out to do their business, then ten or so minutes later they'd be back at the door meowing to come in.
Awww.
ReplyDeleteMy husband has become a big dog convert since meeting me. The only dog he'd ever lived with prior to our goldens was his childhood Schnauzer.
It's very sweet to see him cuddling with the goldens.
P.S. My verification word today was "older." Wow. Talk about a slap in the face from the universe! LOL
Thanks for sharing; this is a great story. I hope he adopts you two. (assuming it's a boy...)
ReplyDeleteawwww
ReplyDeleteI think it really could be murphy giving you a little hello from the other side
Awww! We are huge pet people. We both grew up with dogs and cats, but won't get a dog together until we have a real yard. So in the meantime, we have two cats that we love like crazy. Go get 'em!
ReplyDeleteTerrific story! What a nice thought that your Murphy (and you two) has/ have a feline caretaker of sorts.
ReplyDeleteAnd I admittedly love watching a non-cat person be slowly converted; I grew up surrounded by dogs, cats, and horses and managed to marry someone allergic to the latter two. Without realizing it, AH is incrementally being won over by Hero the cat - who is indoor / outdoor due to his allergies, but sneaking more house time as she sneaks more of his affection.