My previous cat had died a few months earlier and I was torn between not wanting to go through the pain of losing another pet and the desire to have another warm, purring body next to me.

A close friend called me to say an acquaintance connected with the local animal shelter knew of a full-grown cat that needed a home. He had been living outdoors in upstate New York for some time and was finally enticed into the “Have a Heart” trap by the delicious canned cat food.

When I first saw him in the shelter and opened the cage door, he jumped right out into my arms and cuddled. He was a very handsome black, white and grey cat with a black stripe running completely down his back and pretty white paws.

It was love at first sight. I wanted an Old Testament sounding name for him and settled on Zachariah, or Zak for short. He soon added to his name by tearing around the floor of the bedroom chasing his tale.

His full name is Zachariah Tailchaser and, although he is older now, he still puts aside all dignity and occasionally chases his tail for old times sake. I truly believe that he had been starving in his time outside and, when he came to our home, vowed never to be hungry again.

He never saw a can of cat food or a bag of kibble that he didn’t like. He ate his way to eighteen pounds and had to be put on a strict died after becoming diabetic. He now gets a small amount of canned cat food in the morning and two small meals of a special brand of Purina dry cat food for diabetic cats.

To say he hates the diet is to understate his feelings entirely, but he now weighs 12 pounds and is much healthier. He supplements his died by catching whatever rodents he can find, gobbling them tail and all.


  • I didn’t find my cat – he found me I didn’t find my cat – he found me :) My niece and her friend found a litter of kittens abandoned in their neighborhood and brought them all home. By the time I went over to check them out little Tigger was the only one left so I took him home with me. We have
  • The vet said the cat had very unique stripes My cat’s name is Winky. I named him Winky because he winks a lot. I got him when he was just about 6 weeks old. My cousin found him living in a campground and she brought him home and gave him to me for my birthday. He was full of fleas, ear mites, worms, etc. You
  • The feral cats will sneak up and eat our cats food My Husband and I moved to a new place a year ago. We kept our elderly cat in the shop for several weeks till she got used to the new place. After several weeks we let her out unknowing we were infested with feral cats. One night our cat was lying out on the lawn
  • Our cat is definitely like a child to us I absolutely love my cat! He is as much a part of the family as anyone. My cat is what I like to refer to as a “pound puppy”. We got him from a shelter when he was about 7 weeks old. He was so tiny he only weighed about a pound and could not
  • He is an overweight lap kitty My husband has never liked cats. When we suddenly had a mouse problem, I talked him into getting a cat for our house. He turned to Freecycle and Craigslist. It was almost like it was meant to happen. My husband found a woman who was having to give away her husband’s cat because their little

Leave a Reply