giving paws

as i type this, the cat from last weekend is ensconced in my parents' garage with food, water, a litter box and a bed. the garage door is closed, and she's got a secure roof over her head for the night.

according to my parents, she's come back every day this week. so, when she wandered through their backyard earlier today while i was visiting, we decided it was time to rescue this skinny, adorable, super-affectionate feline.

as soon as i went outside, she was ALL over me with love. she came running across the yard when she saw me, and immediately started curling in and around my feet so intently that i couldn't actually walk. when i did manage to take a step or two, she literally flopped onto the grass and right on top of my feet, over and over again, as if to say, "STOP MOVING AND LOVE ME!"

i gave her a bowl of water, from which she drank and drank and drank.

and then, after much debate and a call to toronto animal services for advice, we decided to give her kibbles.

i have never, EVER seen a cat as ravenous as this one was. she attacked that small bowl of kibbles like a tasmanian devil, and was clearly STARVING. she was so excited she wound up scattering the kibbles across the porch because she was trying to eat them so quickly.

T.A.S. advised us to set up shelter for the cat in the garage for overnight, and to either call them in the morning to come get the cat, or bring it in to one of their shelters. the cat has no identification or collar, so we're hoping she's microchipped. she's so unbelievably friendly that she has to have belonged to someone -- stray or feral cats would never be this approachable, pettable, huggable, liftable and clingy.

she literally did not stop purring the entire time i was out there.

i'm really really really hoping she's a beloved pet that somehow accidentally got out of her house, and her owners (who've been desperately searching for her for weeks) will be overjoyed at having her found. i am praying that's what happens when we drop her off tomorrow.

if there's no microchip, then T.A.S. holds the cat for seven days in its "lost pets" department. if it's not claimed after the week is up, the cat is put up for adoption.

and, if that happens, i may have a dilemma on my hands.

fingers crossed "bones" (what i've christened the cat, because she's so petite and thin) is happily back in her own home tomorrow night at this time, drifting off to sleep in her own bed and thinking fondly of the nice lady who reunited her with her family, and helped her when she was lost.