Did I ever tell you the story of Pia The Cat? It's a good story, because she's kinda amazing.
We have always had cats. Always. In fact, when Shawn and I began dating about 14 years ago he had a mother cat with a litter of kittens. He had gotten the brood of approximately 6 cats from a friend. He fell in love with a little tiger-striped bob-tail kitten that was a part of the litter. The friend told Shawn he could have the little kitten if he took the mother and all four of his wild and ornery little brothers and sisters. And Shawn loved that little kitten so much he said yes. He brought them home and within 3 seconds of being out of the car, the momma cat took off. So...Shawn bottle-fed and babied 5 little kittens until they were self-sufficient. A few weeks later, I visited Shawn's house for the first time. And guess what...I instantly fell in love with a little tiger-striped bobtail kitten. And so I suggested to Shawn that because I had just graduated from college and moved into a house all by my lonesome...maybe he should give the kitten to me. What other option does a boy in love have? I'll just answer that one for ya...no other option. The kitten became mine and then eventually Shawn's again when we married two years later. Rodeo was hands-down the best cat we have ever had. He had to be put to sleep about 4 years ago after suffering for a year with cancer. We talk about him all the time.
We have had almost a dozen cats since that time. Some have hung around longer than others...but they have all had a special part in our lives. We moved a sweet little yellow cat, Wyatt, from Idaho to Texas several years ago and were devastated when he was hit by a car two weeks later. So, when we decided to move to Nebraska last year, we decided that moving our two current cats, Tuesday and Pia, was not really a good idea. We were, after all, moving from a home out in the country to a house in more of a neighborhood. And these two felines had always lived outside in our barn, so we were worried about them getting lost or hit by a car or not liking being categorized into "inside cats." And to be honest, out of all the cats we have ever owned, we were the least close with these two for whatever reason.
We have some great friends that lived about 11 miles from our home in Texas who agreed to take both of them. We were happy they were going to be able to stay together (they are brother and sister) and they would be out in the country with a barn and kids to play with. Perfect. Done deal.
One week before moving to Omaha, Shawn took the two cats over to our friend's house after a painful farewell. The new family was happy and we felt good about our decision. After several days, we heard that while Tuesday was adjusting very well, the family had not seen Pia in the last couple of days. I was horrified and felt guilty for forcing her into a new scenario. I had visions of her running away and being eaten by a coyote or a dog, or being hit by a car.
The day before we left for Omaha, guess who wobbled up our driveway? Yep. Pia somehow maneuvered the 11 miles home from where we had delivered her. Please note that this trek involved crossing a busy highway and many fields filled with wild and hungry animals. I had always heard this was possible, and of course I watched The Incredible Journey when I was younger - but to say I was shocked would be an understatement. The cat had found her way home. To people who were willing to give her away. To people who had only given her a barn to live in for the first 2 years of her life. To people who admitted to liking her the least out of all the cats they had owned. How did she even know which way to start? How did she have such courage to go on her own? What did she eat for the 6 days she was on the road? Was she scared?
So we did the only thing we could at that point. We told her she was the smartest animal in the entire world and let her know that not only would she be moving with us, she would be moving into our home and would be treated like a complete Princess. She would have her choice of any of our beds for sleeping, and would have food at her disposal at all times. We even promised to clean up her poop out of a box in the house.
And you know what? It has been amazing. She is a great cat. Better than I ever knew before. She was a champ on the trip here...spending two days in a cat-taxi shoved into a moving truck next to Professor and spending two nights in a hotel room with crying babies and cranky adult owners. Talk about a rough lesson on litter boxes and indoor life.
And now she is part of our world. Roanin and Pia have formed a crazy bond. She sleeps in his bed and he spends hours just talking to her and reading books to her. I love seeing him be so kind to her. Rexy loves Pia as well...but as you can imagine from the picture above, a chronically-naked two-year-old who could be labeled as an aggressive lover doesn't always make for the best cat owner. But, we are still working on it.
So...my point is....love your animals. Love on them like they deserve to be loved. Right now. You never know when they won't be around. Don't take advantage of them. They don't take advantage of you. Treat them with respect and don't underestimate how much you mean to them...even if they don't tell you. And this lesson probably holds true for people too. I'm just sayin'...
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