Entrant's First Name
Deborah

Animal Bio
My gorgeous George is a rescue cat who showed up on my front doorstep in July of 2013. We'd never been "cat people"; I would visit with him but had no intention of taking him in. I figured he was one of the neighbourhood cats that just liked our sunny porch and back yard. Every morning I would open the door to go to work and George would be curled up on our mat, & look up at me & meow hello. So I started buying cat food for him. We would sit out in the backyard & suddenly he'd appear, rubbing up against us, staring up with his beautiful golden eyes. We started to get very attached. Then the worrying started if he didn't show up. Was he okay? Where did he go when he wasn't with us? Perhaps he'd been taken by a coyote? I would check for him on the front step before I went to bed at night & again in the morning. Soon a cuddly cat bed was on the porch & a blanket in case he got cold. We got tired of calling him "The Cat" and I decided he needed a name. That day, Prince George was born to Kate & William so that's what I chose.

September approached & the weather started to cool. We were packing up the car to leave on a trip; I'd already dropped off a big bag of cat food & briefed our next-door-neighbours on the need to feed George a few times a day & make sure he had fresh water. They were very kind about it! As we drove away with George staring at us through the rear-view mirror I said to my husband "If George is here when we get back in two weeks, I think we should adopt him". Husband readily agreed, which shocked me, because he is allergic to cats, LOL. We both felt sick & worried to be leaving him all alone. It pretty much ruined our vacation because we thought and worried about him every single day.

Two weeks went by & we turned into the lane way to our development. Both of us were staring at the porch, hoping to see his adorable black & white face. And there he was! Almost exactly where he'd been when we'd left! We were so happy to see him, but one look showed something was amiss. As we got close, we smelled the problem. He'd been sprayed by a skunk & the stench was overpowering. His long hair was completely matted & he looked quite distressed. We made the decision immediately. We got an appointment at the vet and took him in that day. By that evening he was the proud recipient of a "Lion Cut" and had been totally checked over by the vet & given all his shots. She estimated he was between 5 and 8 years old & was in pretty good shape. George now had a home with us.

Two years later, I was out walking George down the street (he likes to walk on a leash!) when a woman a few doors down from me came out. George immediately walked up to her. I said "He's really friendly, isn't he!" just to make conversation. She said: "I know, he's MY cat"!! As shocking as this was to hear, a part of me had wondered if he'd belonged to these neighbours; around the same time George had appeared, a rough looking young man had moved into her house with a Pit Bull with a studded collar. His truck had a skull and crossbones painted on the back window. She told me her son had moved in with her & didn't like the cat so threw him out. I was mad, really mad at this woman. I said to her "You know he was camping at my door for months, & had been sprayed by a skunk". She said yes, she'd known. She was not even apologetic or sorry! How is that??? I wanted to scream at her, but I didn't. I didn't want to provoke her into saying she wanted him back & perhaps get into a drama, so I bit my tongue. I just said "your loss, my gain". She also told me something shocking. George was 18 years old . Not 5. Not 8. 18! Also, he is a Norwegian Forest Cat. Her daughter, who came out to see George, was 24 years old and they'd bought George for her as a kitten when she was 6. The daughter told me his "original name" was "Smudge" because he has a tuft of black hair on his chin that looks like a smudge of dirt.

I still don't know how anyone could "throw away" their elderly pet, at the most vulnerable time of life. I just know I don't like her, or people like her. George has been one of the best things to happen to us. We had been trying to recover from losing our 15 year old Maltipoo, Cosmo, when George appeared. He saved both of us from the prolonged sorrow & misery of losing Cosmo. Every day he makes me smile, laugh and feel good about life. He will be 20 in July (same day as Prince George, because that's when I'm celebrating his birthday, LOL). He has kidney disease now, and he had a stroke in December which I thought would kill him. But no - he recovered enough to walk again (although he goes a little bit sideways!). He is still enjoying life, albeit very, very slowly; eating, sleeping, drinking & cuddling. We hope we have him for at least a few more years to come.