We are dedicated cat people. I always thought I was a dog person until that day in 1982... we were picking up our two Old English Sheepdogs from being groomed, and they had a box of kittens in there. The woman said to our then 10 year old daughter, "If your Daddy says it's OK, you can have one of those kitties for free!"
Eight years later, that feline outlived the dogs and became my responsibility to feed when our daughter went off to college. I was hooked. Four years later, our daughter said, "Well, time for me to take my cat back."
"Get your own cat - this girl is mine!" I couldn't believe I said that.
Seven years later, that little furry girl traveled with us in our motorhome to our daughter's wedding.
Broke my heart when that furry girl's time came. I said, "Never again." It just hurt too much.
Then, something special happened: a large gray cat came to our house and wouldn't leave. She followed me to work. She was waiting for me on the deck when I got home. Our daughter said, "She knows you have a hole in your heart that only another cat can fill."
That furry girl (Molly) became an
official part of our family the next year. Our daughter was right. I wound up writing a book about our travels with that wonderful cat...
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/27714
And now, we are 9 years into more travels and the company of little Isabella...
She was a shelter rescue - found in a field after Hurricane Dolly hit our home area in 2008. Frankly, she was a sickly little thing... I didn't think she'd make it, but my wife said, "She needs us!" As you can see from the photo above, she has thrived. Great traveler; she also walks on a leash... sweetest disposition ever. She may have been feral; we don't know. She does not "roam"... if she is outside, she is on a leash, and usually I am on the other end of that leash.
I know we can't save them all. But, we can change the life of one furry girl, just as she has enriched ours. We donate regularly to our local shelter to help what they do for those who haven't found a forever home.
Captain Jim