[l2ridehd]

Now first I need to clarify that I completely understand that the title is an oxymoron of the tenth degree, as most all cats do something that is very foolish from time to time. However having cats around most of my life, this is a new one for me.

First some background on how this particular foolish cat arrived in our life. About ten years ago we adopted two cats, Samantha a black short hair and Tigger a brown tabby. Both were great cats that lived with us for several years. Tigger died a little over two years ago and if you search this forum you will find a story I wrote about him. He was such a funny cat and always had us laughing at something he did.

As many of you know, we still live in Northern Virginia and are selling our home here to move full time to the Villages. Last summer before we put our home on the market, our realtor advised us that not having Samantha around while trying to sell our home would be a plus. So we packed up Sam and all the various cat poles, toys and other paraphernalia you accumulate over cat ownership time and drove her off to Florida. A dear friend and our home watch person had agreed to become our Florida cat sitter while we sold our Virginia home. I explained it could take a couple of years, but we worked out an arrangement that seemed to be good for both of us, so now we see Sam when we visit and she comes to stay with us for a few days. So bottom line we were cat free to sell our home.

After being on the market for 3 months we decided to take it off for the Holidays and wait until Spring to put it back on the market. Hopefully in a few more weeks when the flowers and shrubs are all in bloom. Well about the time we took it off the market, a week or two before Thanksgiving this brown tabby shows up on our deck, half starved, a broken tail, and very skittish. Having a soft spot for brown tabbies (Tigger experience) I gave this one some food and tried to pet him and see if he was still injured. Looked like he had some fur issues on his back just before his tail so I assumed he was hit by a car or something. His tail appeared healed although he would not get close enough for a close inspection.

Anyway, he showed up every few days looking a bit bedraggled so I would give him some food and water and he started to like our deck a bit more. It was getting close to Thanksgiving and getting colder out so being the kind hearted fool that I am, I put a box and blanket out there so he had a place to get into out of the weather. Well of course he was no fool; he had food, water, a roof over his head, so he spent even more time hanging around. Because of the way his tail had healed, in the shape of a cork screw we decided to name him Corky. Somehow that has morphed into Corkers but that’s another story. Every once in a while he would bring us presents, a bird, a rabbit, or other gifts he thought would garner him favor.

After a couple weeks as it got colder I put a heating pad under his blanket and turned it on low at night. Well now he had food, water, and a heated place to sleep. Eventually he became friendly enough to pet, sit in my lap, purr and just do everything he could to worm his way into our hearts. He was obviously someone’s cat as he had a ring around his neck where he had worn a collar, and he was so friendly and such a people cat. So I decided to pack him off to the vet to get his tail checked, see if he had a chip, and get him checked out. So $570 later, he was deemed to be a healthy cat, already spaded, with no chip and a tail that had been broken but now healed. I asked the vet how old he was and she gave a range of 16 to 20 months. She said if I was in Vegas and had to bet, he is 18 months old. So back home we go and into his heated box on the deck. Of course every time we went in and out the door he did his best to join us inside and just didn’t understand why he was Corkers the deck cat. Finally one day I relented and let him in to explore and see our house. He immediately went through every room checking out everything and making sure we were good enough for him to adopt us.

So off to Pet Smart I go, cat bed, cat pole, litter box, toys, and lots of the same stuff I had already moved to Florida. Another $200 out the window for this strange cat. He moved in with us and was completely litter trained, decided where he wanted his food and water bowls, and took up a perch on the back of the sofa to watch television. Every morning after his breakfast he would go to the back door and meow until I let him out so he could go outside and spend the day adventuring. Now comes the part where he is such a foolish cat.

We have a big house. Five bedrooms, four baths, living room, family room a finished basement and lots more space then we need. Over 5000 square feet of finished space. But not so for Corkers. He sleeps in a different spot every night. He has now slept on every chair, each of 6 sofas in three different spots, every bed, he gets four spots on a double, six on a queen and eight on a king before he moves on. Each step on the 3 sets of stairs is a bed for a night. Didn’t discover this trick until I almost stepped on him one night. He has found at least 100 different places to sleep and new ones discovered every day.

Now we will have the house back on the market in a few weeks and this time we are doing it with Corkers. Maybe he will bring us some good luck. Our Tigger cat is buried in the woods behind our house as we have a large several acres lot and lots of trees. If Corkers was 18 months old when I took him to the vet, then he was born almost the same time Tigger died. I am convinced that Tigger’s ghost saw this brown tabby running around in our woods and whispered in his ear, these folks will take care of you, just go up there and butter them up a little. The next step will be to see how he and Sam get along and how he will survive being an indoor only cat in Florida. New Corkers adventures to come I think.

[JAV0108]

I wish I had a "like" button to click on!

[duffysmom]

l2ridehd I so enjoyed your story about your cats. It was heartwarming and countered the ignorance and cruelty I sometimes read on these forums about cats. I've always admired your generousity in sharing your experiences on TOTV but this one topped them all for me. I'm happy that you live in TV.

[gomoho]

Loved, loved, loved your story - thanks for sharing.

[Schaumburger]

Corkers is one lucky cat. Thank you for posting this!

[MSNPA]

Loved your story. Thank you for posting. I am a dog person now, but I sure miss having cats!

[Ecuadog]

Good read. Thanks.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by MSNPA

Loved your story. Thank you for posting. I am a dog person now, but I sure miss having cats!

Me too (loved your story) and me too (miss having cats). Thanks for sharing! Give Corkers a scritchy-scratch for me. (Our cat term with our many felines who owned us down through the years.)

[Cisco Kid]

I2ridehd

The Author of this poem is Unknown, but I am sure it was about you.



RESCUER'S ARE ANGELS
Tail tucked between your legs,
Confusion in your eyes
I know it's hard to understand
That someone heard your cries.

When loneliness is all you know
And pain is all you feel
And no one can be trusted
And hunger's all too real.

That's the time the Lord sees you
And lets you know He's there
That's when He sends His messengers
The hearts that love and care.

Yes, rescuers are angels
You cannot see their wings
They keep them neatly folded
As they do their caring things.

The medicine to make you well,
Good food to make you strong.
And finally to help you learn
That hugs are never wrong.

The perfect place then must be found
The home where you can live
Secure and safe and happy
With joy to get and give.

When you reach your Forever Home,
Your place to feel whole.
The angels smile and off they go
To save another sole.

Author Unknown

[quirky3]

That's such a touching description of how a ktty finds their "forever humans" - thanks!

[graciegirl]

Chris.

Every single little thing I learn about you makes me admire you even more.

[CFrance]

Geeze, Cisco! Made me tear up. And it's a lucky cat that finds its way to l2ridehd, and I bet to you, too.

[asianthree]

makes all of us think of how our lives touch others...

[duffysmom]

Cisco that was a beautiful poem, thank you.

[deb133]

That was a warm story and a very apropo poem.