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While I was living in the Bronx, (2005) my neighbor from across the hall knocked on my door, and told me about this cat she'd just seen outside on the street. She made me bring some cat food, and led me out to see it. She described it as a combination of every cat she'd ever seen. We walked up and down the block, and couldn't find it. We called and called, and finally this calico cat sauntered up to us and looked at us like we had just interrupted her doing something very important. She wound around us a few times, and I gave her some food. She ate some and then plopped down on the dirty sidewalk like it was nothing. She hissed at every passerby. But she did not hiss at us. Her white fur was dirty and it was evident that she'd spent some time living on the streets of the Bronx, but not all of her life. We think that maybe the neighbor who had passed away recently down the block owned her and no one wanted her, so the family kicked her out. I agreed to take her only until I could find someone to keep her. I had a cat already, and was not ready for another calico. My Boots had died 8 months prior, and I had deliberately picked a cat with different coloring, so I wouldn't be reminded of Boots. To clean her up, I actually brought her into the shower with me. You know how most cats love water, right? Well, to my complete and utter amazement, she let me shampoo her fur to a clean, sparkling white! I guess she'd had enough to dirt to last her a lifetime. After that though, she wanted nothing to do with water. I was going on vacation in a week. I didn't have time to get her to the vet, so I used a pet gate to keep her separate from my existing cat, in case she had contracted anything contagious. My neighbor agreed to pet sit while I was gone. I thought it would just be a simple task. Boy, was I ever wrong. I returned home and beyond the pet gate were all my kitchen chairs, boxes piled up, etc etc. It looked like a hurricane barrier! And where was the cat? She had decided this was home and she was staying here. I looked at there were both cats sleeping on my bed...like they'd been friends forever. So, you know how this turned out. I kept her. I got her to the vet and she was pronounced disease-free, had her vaccinated and spayed. My BFF decided her name should be Maggie, and Maggie it was. I had been tempted to call her Smudge because of the smudge of orange fur on her face, but Smudge got relegated to a nickname. Maggie and Diane were friends until I brought home Sadie in 2006 to foster. If you read Sadie's page, you'll see that after a while, Maggie decided enough was enough, and knocked the gate down. SHE decided Sadie was staying! And that was that! But it wasn't until 2007, when I brought home Chi Chi to foster, that Maggie would meet her bestest cat friend. They were so great together! Chi Chi was older and Maggie just seemed to understand that. How, I will never know, but she did. They would play tag together. Maggie would race into the living room, and jump on "her chair". And wait.... 10 seconds later Chi Chi would trot out, look up at Maggie, and watch Maggie jump off the chair and race out of the room. Chi Chi would turn around and trot out after her. She couldn't keep up, but Maggie would always let her catch up. And that's how they played. Nothing got by Maggie's watchful eyes. She earned the nickname "Maggie the cashier" for being so studious in catching every detail. She was a independent cat for sure. When she wanted attention, she'd let you know. When she'd had enough, she simply walked away. When I lost Chi Chi, Maggie felt it. She was sad and I knew it. A three cat house meant someone was always the "odd-cat out". So, when I saw Zoey, I thought she'd be the perfect new friend for Maggie. UGH! Maggie had her own idea of who her friends would be. They tolerated one another, but never became the friends I hoped they would be. Maggie has gone home to be with her bestest cat friend Chi Chi, and now they have all the time in the universe to play and be together once again. |
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