So Strange

Yesterday, exactly one week to the hour since Cinder died, I looked out on my porch and this is what was staring through the glass talking to me:

I was gobsmacked. First, that a cat had just showed up on my porch at that exact time, then after getting a good look at her, that she seemed to look like a combination of Cinder (see photo in the last post) and my previous cat, Roscoe.

Roscoe was one of the sweetest cats I've ever known and I was devastated when he died several years ago. He always seemed to know my moods and was a great source of comfort when I was going through a very rough patch. He had a hard start to his life. He was found in a dumpster, very sick,  too early to have been taken from his mother. As a result, he always had a compromised immune system and had lots of health issues during his life. His gratitude for being saved from the dumpster was always evident.

Now, back to this little visitor. I went out to see if I recognized her as belonging to one of my neighbors and realized that 1) I had never seen her before, 2) she wouldn't put much weight on her right rear leg, 3) she was starving. She was all over me, meowing and wanting to be held and petted and tripping me up when I tried to walk away. Since I'd given away all the leftover cat food, I gave her half a can of tuna.  When I tried to examine her leg, well, she didn't like that one bit. After picking her up I thought she was either very well fed or maybe pregnant. Hmmm... this is getting stranger and stranger. I called or left messages for all of my neighbors and made up a flyer with her picture. Then I made an appointment with the Vet.

Her trip to the Animal Medical Center of Boone revealed that she had recently been spayed, maybe 2-3 weeks ago. (Thank God she's not having kittens!) She does not have a microchip to identify her owners. Her sore leg was from a deep bite wound, also recent. She received an antibiotic shot, some samples of cat food to tide us over and was sent home with me. The other odd thing was that Dr. Roten saw some "blue glue" on her belly, used to close the incision. She said that the only place that uses that is the spay/neuter clinic in Asheville (2 hours away) that our Humane Society uses in order to offer the surgeries at a low cost. So, she was either adopted from the HS, or her family moved here from Asheville. The HS was called and no one had reported a missing cat.

We were experiencing our first really cold weather and snow showers, so I HAD to bring her into the house. After exploring a little she settled in like she had always been here.

She curled up and slept next to Cinder's ashes. You can see where her back leg is shaved.

So I'm thinking that the Universe has sent me some kind of Ghost Cat or Messenger Cat on purpose, and every time I look at her I just shake my head. I'll continue to look for her family because I know how devastating it is to have a missing pet, and since she's been spayed they have a financial investment in her. She's welcome to stay here in safety and keep me company until we find them. If that doesn't happen then she's welcome to stay for good. I really didn't want to get another cat until after the holidays, but if this is meant to be, then how can I deny her? In the meantime she doesn't have a name, just "Little Girl" or "Kitty". We'll see how things progress.