Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Shadow

A few months after we moved into our home last year, a second stray cat came to visit. We had been feeding Jerry, our outside cat, when a shadow snuck up in the evening darkness, ate from Jerry's bowl, and disappeared. A few days later we realized this shadow was sneaking up regularly for dry cat food. Sometimes we wouldn't see her, but we'd see big golden/green eyes watching us from under a bush in the darkness. We named her Shadow.

Shadow was a wild thing, she came & left like the wind. She ate and ran. One day we saw her on our front porch, then at the same time we saw her on the back porch! It was then that we realized we had two Shadows! Once we knew there were two, we were able to tell them apart - one was larger, one was more petite. One was male, the other female. They were both pitch black with a few white hairs on their chest, with big golden/green eyes.





The male Shadow fought like anything with Jerry. Shadow-boy was bigger and Jerry lost many fights. Then, much to Jerry's relief, Shadow-boy started traveling, only coming back for food weekly and then monthly.


Shadow-girl decided to adopt us. She stayed near the front door or in the bushes nearby, but for months we couldn't pet her or get near her. Jerry must have told her not to go near us. She stayed out there all winter long, and it was bitter cold. But my husband worked his magic - he is able to tame all wild animals (except for Jerry)- he just usually just needs to spend some time with them. So soon he had her tame. Well, semi-tame.
I just wanted to get her to a vet to ensure she had her shots & wasn't going to bless us with any kittens any time soon! Plus she needed to get tested for feline diseases.

It was love at first sight for Shadow when she met our inside cat, Jack.



So we moved Shadow-girl inside, got her cleaned up, shots, and she tested clean. Once she came in she never wanted to go back out again. We often open the door for her, but she wont go anywhere near it! She is happy having all the food she wants, playing with her cat toys & with Jack. Jack was very lonely & was happy to get a friend. In return, Shadow assists Jack keeping the house mouse and bug-free.

2 comments:

Carolynn Anctil said...

What a lovely girl, so very elegant and her eyes are such an unusual colour! That's great that she & Jack get along, especially when Shadow was feral for so long. Shadow will live a long life with you as an indoor kitty. I love a happy ending.

Randy said...

Jack loves all other cats - he's very social. He also was found wild & moved inside a couple years ago. He was very lonely & was so happy to have a playmate & best friend when Shadow came long.