Rinny
Rinny
“Home… I need a home, someplace to shelter myself and my future offspring.”
It was a warm spring day. The cat was wandering through the neighborhood looking for a place to rest. Being a stray it was easy to find food in such a well-stocked development, abutting an untouched forest. But time was running short. The pregnancy had gone on for too long. It was time to find a place to nest.
And there it was – a ranch style house with a closed in porch. If only I can get the attention of the owner. As luck would have it they saw me first. They were nice and provided food that day. Timing was perfect. So that night, I found a corner in the shade and gave birth to 4 kittens.
The owner was surprised the next day to find me searching for food and looking less pregnant. I could tell I was being followed and soon my temporary nest was found. I watched cautiously as each of my offspring were carefully carried from my hiding place to the enclosed porch. I crept with some trepidation after the owners, waited until they were gone and crawled into the enclosure that they had provided for my children. As I became more comfortable in my surroundings I noticed that the porch door had closed. I was trapped. But even in being trapped I felt safe. There was food supplied for me and the enclosed area provided a defensive structure to protect us.
The people were nice. They called us strange names. Rinny? That’s the name of a dog on TV. The male keeps yelling “Yo Rinny” and expects me to chase some crumpled up paper, which of course I do. And my kids? Who calls cats Number 1, Worf, Data and Wesley? Must be after some sort of cult he follows.
the Trek kittens
We’re eventually invited into the house. We stay in the basement for a while, until a special door is put at the top of the basement stairs, to allow us to go up and down. Time passes quickly and my children are fostered off to other places. I heard that Data was sent off to Africa and is now called Rocky. But I decide to stay. I’m glad I made the choice I did.
Author’s postscript: Rinny stayed with us for 19 years before she passed on. There now is another feral cat that hangs around our house, “Thunder Snow”, he’s never come in or said a word to us over the past 2+ years, but he continues to frequent our porch, receive food, and provides comfort to us as the days go on.
Thunder Snow
