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December 29, 2004

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She was cold and hungry and all alone. Certainly too young to be on her own. Sure, the winter days in Arizona are okay, but at night it can get rather cold, and when you're all alone it can be just as  miserable. 

In her search to stay safe and warm she had found a building with the siding off of the bottom and decided to huddle up under there for the rest of the evening. With the next day came more hardships and more hazards to over come. With the siding off, her new hiding place was not totally safe from predators or other dangerous creatures. 

Following the scent, a very large, undesirable character, by the name of Leo, began to investigate the area. Realizing there was something under there, finding and capturing it became his new objective. A very large and powerful Chow, he was a relentless and ferocious hunter.

But the hunger was too strong for Samantha and she had to start wandering out in search of food. Occasionally she would find her way out of the building and scrounge for food. Whereas there was not much, if any, to be found. But she was too afraid to venture very far from her shelter. Leo would see her from time to time and come running in pursuit. She darted back under the structure and found her way up in the framework out of reach. Although Leo would continue to try to get to her he was still not yet able. Certainly and eventually a time would come when he would have his moment and be able to catch her off guard. Timing and reflexes were crucial in her survival. Even late in the evenings when Leo was not around, the coyotes would be out. The most common predator of a house cat in Arizona, they certainly had their position in keeping the population of stray, feral cats down to a minimum.

But Samantha was no feral cat. She was just a young cat that had lost her way somehow. Obviously from a loving and caring upbringing, this new life on the run, and in hiding, was not her forte'.

So one night, while she was cold and hungry and all alone, she made a wish. She wished for a warm home, a safe place, with food, and somebody to take care of her. She knew she couldn't last much longer in this type of lifestyle. So she made her wish. 

Oddly enough, her wish came during a special time of year, where some wishes actually do come true. And somebody heard her wish and it was granted on Christmas Day.

Still afraid, she had been trying to keep silent in her shelter. But she could no longer refrain. She eventually began calling for help one day and her call was answered. A man heard her and called back to her. But she was still too afraid to come out. So the man found some cheese in the refrigerator and carefully placed it in a small opening in the side of the building. The cheese was quickly devoured and the need for more was evident. That afternoon she had wandered out in the open to see if she could find more food. To see if the man had possibly left more outside. The man saw her, as did Leo. So in full pursuit, Leo chased after her and had cornered her again, deep under the dwelling and in the structure and framework. Barking and lunging at her, the man realized he had to do something. He crawled under the house as well, and after much coaxing and struggling, he was able to subdue the powerful Leo and remove him from under the house. The man worked and placed the cover back on the side of the house, concealing the poor, frightened Samantha safely inside.

It was Christmas Eve.

The man then pulled a small opening up on the other side of the house, just small enough for a small cat. He placed the rest of the cheese just inside the small opening and it was again quickly devoured. The man got some cat food and, on Christmas Day, he placed it inside the opening. Later that day, after his Christmas dinner he took another can and went out to the opening again. He called Samantha who, this time, surprisingly came right out of the opening and began to eat the food. The man reached down and was amazed the find that this was no feral wild cat, but actually quite domesticated. She allowed him to pet her and she even seemed to enjoy the contact. He was then able to pick her up and hold her. So he did and quickly took her inside the house.

Unfortunately she was quite frightened by the new environment and, after releasing her, she darted off through the house. Being under construction, the house had lots of interesting hiding places. She had made her way into one of the bedrooms, through the closet and found an opening, leading into the underside of the bathtub from the next room. She remained there and would not come out. The man figured that she would eventually come out when she became hungry enough. But then she began to call out for help again. But this time it wasn't just a faint cry. This time the sound seemed to resonate from under the fiberglass bowl of the tub and amplified and echoed rather loudly from the bathroom. He couldn't take it any more so the man went into the bathroom, got into the tub and proceeded to make a great deal of noise by banging on the inside walls of the tub. This process worked rather well and Samantha came out in a hurry and ran through the house. He cornered her in the living area where he was able to pick her up and calm her back down. He took her into the bedroom where he held and pet and soothed her. She calmed down, began to purr and dozed off to sleep, and eventually as did he.

It wasn't much longer that she was still rather hungry, awoke and left the room. But still afraid of the house, she felt the need to find a place to hide again. The man had closed off the closet leading to the bathtub hiding place, so she found another place, even more secure.

The next morning the man was awakened and, as always, running a little late. He showered, got dressed and just before he was to head out the door, he called out to find Samantha. He heard a faint reply coming from what sounded like the underside of the house again. He was confused. How did she find her way back out of the house? He continued to call and eventually realized that she had crawled down inside one of the open covers of the heating duct. He didn't have time to deal with her then so he turned off the heater and headed out the door.

Later, upon returning, he found that she was still there, hiding inside the ducts. Calling and coaxing, he got her to one end of the house. He blocked off ducts as she went and finally coaxed her to the end duct where he was able to reach down and carefully pull her out of the opening and closed it back up. She wasn't happy that she now didn't have any real secure place to hide. But hopefully she would soon learn and appreciate that she would no longer need one. 

Still quite hungry he placed her down at the food where she began to gobble down the food. He had things to do so he left her there. She immediately left the food and found another closet to hide in. That's when the man realized that she was not afraid of him, but just afraid of being alone. He took her back to the food dish and sat down on the floor next to it. She ate like she had never eaten before. Then, after a few moments, she stopped and crawled into his lap and began to purr. But then she got up again and resumed eating. But every few moments she would return to his lap, then return to the food, until it seemed she had enough and she remained in his lap and fell asleep. 

She had found her a new home. A place where she will feel safe and secure and somebody that will take care of her.

The man really wasn't looking to get a cat, and wasn't looking forward to taking care of one, and certainly wasn't in any way interested in maintaining a littler box. But Samantha made a wish and needed somebody. So the man couldn't refuse such a wish and agreed to take the job.

Samantha is quite the affectionate little girl and has been right at his side throughout the house. And she now has a home.

Merry Christmas!

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