Cruiser the Cat

Cruiser the Cat Part 6

I’m not sure exactly when the campaign began, but sometime a few weeks ago I realized that Sue was serious. I thought she was teasing a little when she said that Cruiser, our cat, ought to have a companion. I thought that I was a good companion for Cruiser. When I got up in the morning, Cruiser and I were close friends as he led me straight to the kitchen where his food dish was located. He paraded in front of my computer as I tried to read my email, letting me know he wanted to be petted. And he would often trot over to me when called and coaxed. We were buddies.

But Sue persisted and informed me that the Humane Society in Brooksville had the perfect cat for Cruiser’s companion. It was female, spayed, declawed, treated for most cat disorders, and only four years old. It had been brought to the society because it had been abused by other cats, according to the narrative on the website. She did add that the picture on her computer showed a large, friendly type cat, with an ugly face. She felt sorry for it. I didn’t think I wanted an ugly cat. What if Cruiser thought it was ugly? He has standards, you know.

Well, I finally gave in and we drove to the Humane Society to look at this ugly, female cat. There she was, lying all by herself at the back of her cage. Her face was hidden behind her paws as she slept. And no matter how we tried to coax her, she just stayed there, making no effort to respond. Not a very good beginning to a warm relationship. We had time to look around at the other cats the society had gathered so we roamed the room, pausing to scratch a few felines, both young and old. The young lady from the society guided us to a nice black cat that she said had been left there only three weeks before.

Now, you have to understand that “used cats” have a story just like “used cars”. This “used cat” saleslady told us in confidence that the cat had been owned by an elderly couple. The husband had passed away, and the widow had decided she had to move back north, and was getting too old to be able to take care of the cat. Sue bought the story, hook, line, and sinker. And I thought, oh, yeah, and the old lady only took the cat to and from church on Sunday. As Sue held the cat, she was thrilled how it purred in her arms and liked to be petted. Oh, she was getting real hooked.

Then we heard the rest of the story. The cat was male, declawed, and neutered. So far so good. The cat was one of a pair that had lived together for years. The other one, also male, declawed, etc, was white and 10 years old. And Sue’s black pick was 12 years old. Just what Cruiser needed for companions, two Senior Citizen cats. And I said, “NO, NO, NO!” to three cats. Sue agreed about not having three cats, but insisted that this black cat would be an ideal companion for Cruiser. It was, she insisted, in excellent shape for an older cat. “Yeah,” I said, “He may be in good shape but is he retired and living on Social Security? Does he have Medicare?”

Sue did not think that was very funny.

Truthfully, the cat did look pretty good for an old-timer. The ears, skin, and fur were clean, the eyes were clear, there were no signs of fleas. This cat needed a good home. Most people would not be interested in adopting an old cat. So, we finally decided to adopt this black cat and before long we were driving home with a little old black cat that would soon be introduced to Cruiser as his playmate.

That is how we became a multicat family.

What did we name the cat? How did the cats react to each other? I know the suspense is killing you but you’ll just have to wait for the next story to find out.

Leave a Comment