introducing... swiffer duster!
I'm not going the bury the lede: we adopted a cat today.
Last week, Boyf told me he had spotted a new neighborhood cat, a small tuxedo who seemed like a lost cat or a stray. He was a little worried about it, which I initially dismissed. Then I saw the poor thing and Understood.
The stray came to our backdoor repeatedly to meow - face against the screen to watch us and our cats - only to run away when we approached. Small, skinny, and definitely bullied by our neighbor's cat, Fufu. I immediately made it my mission to become his friend, and spent the better part of the evening trying to coax him into feeling safe around us.
Unfortunately, Fufu was pretty sure the treats I had to offer were for him, actually, and had plenty to say about that to the nervous kitten I was trying to befriend! At one point I had Swiffer close enough to pick up, but he squirmed away, into the night.
The next night, he was back, and I was focused. Churu in hand, I fended off Fufu and finally picked Swiffer up. I felt him tense under me, before catiously relaxing as I carried him indoors. My heart melted right there, when he decided to trust me to take him into the house. We went into the bathroom - the only room in our apartment with a door - and within a few minutes he climbed into my lap and started to purr and suckle on my shirt. It was over for me.
Boyf, however, was much more guarded. Our apartment is tiny, around 400 square feet, and already home to two beloved senior kitties. Boyf is the kind of person who always approaches situations logically, unlike my own "have emotions first, answer questions later" approach. Nevertheless, he was charmed by the end of the night, naming him "Swiffer Duster."† Why? Well, he was dirty, and his tail is a little bushy, and he was rolling around on our bathroom floor and gathering more dust!
We took him to a veterinary ER that evening to check for a chip. No luck. Boyf ended up sleeping on the floor of the bathroom on Friday, because he didn't want Swiffer to cry while he was alone.
It was very clear to us that - despite being unchipped and intact - Swiffer had to be someone's cat. From the way he meows, to his comfort being handled, to the gentle way he playfights; he is not remotely feral. His skinny body and dirty appearance didn't exactly scream "accustomed to outdoor life," and despite being bullied by Fufu, he showed no interest in fighting back. So we took the next step, and on Saturday afternoon took him to the MSPCA to surrender.
MSPCA-Angell has a three day hold policy for cats that show no signs of ownership. Yesterday, they called us back with the question we had been asking ourselves for days. Would you like to adopt him?
After three days of talking to each other and our friends, reading forum posts on introducing cats in studio sized spaces, worrying about our cats and landlords, and (in my case) earnest praying... we decided yes, we did. We picked him up this morning, before I went to work. Neutered, given his vaccines and parasite preventatives, and with a mostly clean bill of health!±
We celebrated by me making some absolutely terrible decisions about catnip, leading to Swiffer Duster performing his namesake's duty, and getting absolutely wizard high within minutes of being home.
You may be wondering what Taz and Lilac think of all this! I won't lie, they aren't thrilled... but they also aren't protesting. Today has been a day for big sniffs - both of us and the closed bathroom door - but over all their daily routines haven't been interrupted by the new arrival... except for when whining because one of us is in the bathroom instead of paying attention to them right now.
Per our adoption agreement, there is still a chance that Swiffer's original family can be reunited with him. My found cat flyer is floating around the local Internet and our neighborhood, in case someone is looking for an escaped kitten.
Until then, he is getting cozy on my lap, purring and making biscuits, and we are so looking forward to getting to know him.
± He has ear mites and some bad scratches from them and the neighbor cats. He's treated and on his way to recovering!