This entry was posted on Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 at 8:59 am and is filed under Stories of cat lovers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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.