You may have seen my blog post, Lessons From Stray Cats, on the cats that I’ve been rescuing here at our house. I thought that I’d share an update with you. I already have a beautiful black cat with green eyes, Natalya, who I adopted from a cat shelter in Belton, Missouri, several Christmases ago.
My cat Natalya
I’ve been feeding about 4 stray cats (intentionally) since spring 2023 (other stray cats may be sneaking around here, too). My husband Ray would joke that the good news spread, and we began seeing more cats hanging around to beg food from us.
My heart went out to them when they would meow at me. Ray bought me a coffee cup with the inscription, “You had me at meow” and a cute graphic on the other side of a woman and her black cat looking out at the sunset, with my name and Natalya’s on it. At Christmas, he ordered another cup with a graphic of a woman representing me and ALL the cats that I’ve been feeding and taking care of, looking out at the ocean, lol!
the cute coffee cup Ray bought me with all the cats
Silas is a Main Coon-tabby mix, male cat with a bushy tail and green eyes, about 2 years old. He was friendlier than the other strays who were semi-feral, so Ray thought that he had been around humans before and was possibly someone’s pet. He joked that some little girl was crying about her missing cat that I now had inside my house. It turns out that Ray was right – Silas had wandered away from his owner one day and didn’t return!
Silas
Recently, Silas was returned to his original owner, Lesslee, who lives here in Butler, Missouri, not too far from our house. I was posting on the Butler Facebook page to try to find a home for the other two stray cats that I’d been feeding here, Nichodemus (a male, Main Coon-tabby mix with green eyes and a bushy tail like Silas has) and Marmalade (a male, orange tabby).
Lesslee publicly posted under Nichodemus’ picture that I had posted: “That looks like my cat O’Malley who ran away forever ago!”
Silas, the day before he was neutered and got his vaccinations
I sent her a private message and she sent me a picture of her “O’Malley.” I looked at it and replied to her, “That looks like our cat Silas, who we have inside our house now!” She asked if she could come see him. I told her yes.
The day she came, Nichodemus just happened to be outside on our back patio eating. When she walked quietly to the steps where I was sitting, watching him, she shook her head and said, “No, that’s not him.” As usual, Nichodemus (who is more feral and gets scared easier) ran off into the bushes. I didn’t think that he was her cat, from her picture. Although they resemble each other, Nichodemus has darker markings on his face and his back than Silas does. Silas is also bigger and more territorial (aggressive).
Nicodemus on our back patio
When she came inside our house, I called Silas. He came walking up to us both in the utility room. As soon as Lesslee saw him, she began crying. While he had gained a LOT of weight since she had him (he loves to EAT!), she thought it was her cat O’Malley who had wandered off over a year ago. Silas came right to her and seemed to KNOW her, letting her pet him. She was shocked when I asked if she wanted him. My heart was aching at the thought of him going, but I felt it was the right thing to do.