I Rescue You, You Rescue Me
We lost my beloved first cat, Calvin, in May of this year after 16 years with him. My husband and I have three other cats, but Calvin was special, and it left a huge hole in our lives. We weren't sure we wanted another cat anytime soon, but one Saturday a few weeks later, I suggested we stop by BARCS just to see how it felt to consider the idea.
I was sure we wouldn't find any cat worthy of taking Calvin's place. For some reason, though, I couldn't get this small, mangy black cat named Feather out of my mind after we left. He had been so eager for attention, rubbing his head on the bars of his cage but retreating to the back when we got closer. His fur and skin looked awful, like the patchy feathers on a baby bird, and he was scrawny and underweight. But his eyes were cheerful, bright and just a bit mischievous. I had a feeling that this sweet creature would be passed over by most people because of his looks, and that made me sad. I thought that rescuing him might just rescue us from the pain of losing our dear old boy.
I went back on Tuesday of the next week to re-meet Feather and fell instantly in love. I next convinced my husband we were doing the right thing, then filled out an adoption application Wednesday. I brought him home on Thursday—coincidentally, my husband's birthday.
Luther isn't a beginner cat, and it took a while for us to learn each other's quirks and behaviors. It also took a while for him to understand he was in his forever home.
In the five months he's been with us, Luther has become a total mama's boy, my little shadow, following me around the house begging for pets and rubdowns. He loves to get his sides rubbed with both hands like a dog. With proper food and a few courses of medication for a flea allergy, his fur grew back shiny and black, and he became even more adorable as he got chunkier. He's weird and awkward and sweet and playful and just so frickin' cute all the time. He reminds us of Calvin in the best possible way, but he's very much his own person, if you will. I'm convinced he knows what we're saying and understands far more than you'd think he should for a cat.
We can't imagine not having saved him from what probably would have been a long search for a home. This has been a rough year for us between losing Calvin and other personal and family issues, but Luther and his antics always make us laugh, no matter how difficult things are or how bad our day was.
It's totally cliché, but he really did rescue us as much as we rescued him.
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