The Story of Lee
A lot of exciting stuff has happened this week, but alas since it involved work it can’t be related here. Although we did make the news big-time today, so hooray for Seattle Elementary School.
So some people may already know this story and some may dislike cats (in which case, here I will name some famous cat lovers: Mark Twain, George Washington, Albert Einstein and Abraham Lincoln. And conversely, some famous cat haters: Adolf Hitler, Napoleon Bonaparte, Stalin and Moussilini – interpret that how you may), but I am going to tell it anyway.
So last year we (well, I’ll be honest, I) thought it would be a good idea to get another cat. Henry was over a year old and still acting neurotic, and there was only so much behavior we could blame on inbreeding. We always had two Siamese cats at once, so I figured maybe Henry just needed a friend.
Need frieeeeend!
Chris and I briefly talked about it and we decided if we got another cat, we would get one that was adult and homeless, a “hobo cat” that needed a family. Fatefully, I got an email a few days later from a friend of a friend of my mother’s, who had a friend who had a cat she needed to find a home for. This photo was attached to the email.
I'm a cutie pants.
I was entranced. The email basically said, “My friend found a young female cat that now needs a home….” I thought, wow, a young female cat would be perfect! And white cats go with everything!
So after talking on the phone with the lady who found White Cat, she decided our home would be perfect for her. The other option was giving the cat to her friend who had five dogs and many, many cats. She figured we would give it more attention and love. She told me to pick White Cat up at her house the very next day, as her husband was coming home from a business trip and she needed to get rid of the cat before then.
I needed a permanent mom.
So Chris found out that night that we were getting another cat after I told him we were. He was skeptical. I had a good feeling about the whole thing, and my good feelings generally pan out (conversely, I really need to learn to listen to my bad feelings).
The next day we drove out to Great Falls to pick up our new white cat, who I had already excitedly dubbed “Charlotte.” I love that name but cannot name a chid Charlotte, as Charlotte Schetter is ridiculous.
We met the lady and she showed us the cat, who was trolling around her gazebo outside. It had lived between the gazebo and the garage, as the lady’s allergies wouldn’t allow it in the house. The cat was absolutely friendly, and meowed at us as we walked up to it, “eeeeee”. The lady told us she had found the cat as she was driving on the Leesburg Turnpike one night after work. She was turning into her neighborhood when she saw a white cat on the side of the road. She went with her kindest, loveliest, most angelic instincts and pulled over and opened the door. The cat jumped right into her car, so she drove them both home. She spent three weeks searching for the owner and calling animal shelters to no avail. Nobody put a post out about a white cat, and so she took it to a vet to get checked out. The vet told her the cat was a healthy, young female. The animals shelters told her not to drop the cat off unless she was ok with it being killed within 24 hours, as the shelters were too full for more animals. She was not ok with that, and so sent desperate emails to her friends, one of which finally got to me.
Lee and I hope karma blessed that lady.
So as we gathered up the cat, the lady cried to see him go, she had become attached. After leaving we drove straight to the vet, where my mother met us. The vet examined the cat and told us three surprises. 1. This was a male cat 2. This was not a young cat, he was about 5-8 years old. 3. He had a heart murmur. Oh, we were so upset to hear the last one. Poor old Lee.
Chris was in shock about the first two surprises from the vet. How could the cat’s gender be in question?! How could it’s age be so different from the other vet? I like to think it’s because I was leaning towards a young female cat (the best match for a young male like Hank), but we were meant to have Lee so fate lied a bit.
Don't kiss me with that lipstick on, Mom! I just washed my coat.
Everyone loves me!
We decided to name him “Lee” after the turnpike he was found on. Sometimes we wonder what his last home was like and if he misses his people. I like to think that it’s a hopeful story that if a pet is lost, someone may find it and love it as much as you did. Lee is our ALPHA to Henry’s beta, and they love each other and keep one another entertained, and I am so grateful that that lady stopped her car to help out a lost cat.
Move your big bottom, Brother!