Because we’ve found one…trying to keep warm on our compost pile. When I first noticed her two days ago, I just assumed that she belonged to one of the neighbors. She looked well from a distance and I didn’t think much of it. Then yesterday I saw her again, first thing in the morning. When the boys went out in the afternoon she was still around. Elijah got it into his head to go try and lure her out with a handful of cat food. They came in all excited to tell me about how she came out meowing and ate the food when they backed away. Hmm…that doesn’t sound like the behavior of a well feed cat. So I went down to check her out, up close and personal, myself. Upon closer inspection the poor thing was horribly, painfully, sickeningly thin. Every bone showed through her coat and was shaking with every wind. We brought her food and water and she soon grew less shy. The boys were thrilled to discover that holding out their hands to her resulted in a soft head nuzzling their palms.

We made her up a small bed in the basement of the old house; our of the chill winds, away from the none-too-gentle hands of the toddler from this house, and segregated from the possibly territorial cat of the other house. I say she, as all cat in our home are consider she until proven he! The result of many years of female cats. The fact is that “she” could very well be “he”. She’s just so fragile right now, honestly, I’m afraid of hurting her while turning her over to look.

Elijah is in love and refused to leave her side for much of yesterday. He claimed that she would get lonely with out him. She spent much of the afternoon sunning herself on a rock while the boys played around her. When Steve came home Elijah scolded him for trying to go see the cat himself. “She doesn’t know you Daddy! She will be scared. She knows me, let me go with you.”

We are looking for her owners, but no luck so far. Thus, my last day and a half has been divided between caring for a sick baby and nursing a starving cat.