Enter, Cat

Willow

Last Monday, I was traveling around East County gathering up pet food for the various species who call our home their own. One thing on my list was guinea pig pellets, which we normally purchase in bulk from KW Cages in Santee. They have a great selection of Oxbow products, which is a high quality small animal feed. However one of our guinea pigs isn't feeling well so I decided to pick up a special treat for her at the Petco on 2nd street in El Cajon. Everything that happened next I can blame on my lovely sweet Willow and her sensitive tummy.

While going through the checkout line, a young couple with three children in tow came up to ask the checker where the animal shelter was. The mother was holding a grey and white tabby cat in her arms. I heard the cashier tell them the location of the El Cajon animal shelter and they walked out the door. If anyone has been to an animal shelter, they will know that it is a very sad place. The El Cajon facility on Marshall street is a small shelter with friendly staff, and it has one of the highest survival rates in the United States for impounded animals. However, it's still a loud, scary, cold place for an animal that is accustomed to being a family pet.

Cat at El Cajon Animal Control

I asked the cashier to hold my purchase and ran out into the parking lot to talk to the family. They said that their landlord had found out about the cat and had threatened to evict them. Those of us in animal rescue hear hundreds of stories like this every year. So many of them sound the same that skepticism becomes a large part of how we deal with the surrendering public. However, that skepticism melts away when someone is holding a frightened cat that is 3.3 miles away from living in a cage.

I told the owners about the pet overpopulation rate in California, and how most shelters have a kill rate as high as 70% for cats. They looked sad and desperate and I wondered if the small box held by the youngest child contained a furry consolation for the loss of their family cat. When I said that I did animal rescue their faces lit up like it was Christmas, Easter, and their birthday all wrapped into one. I was trying to segue into directing them towards a local cat rescue to help them with their rehoming options. "Guinea pig rescue!" I said hastily, "I rescue GUINEA PIGS!" But it was too late. They were already going to their car to get cat food and telling me what a nice cat she was, how she was spayed and microchipped and loves people.

So I took home the cat with every intention of attempting to find her a home, since B.B. is not really a cat-loving dog. The cat, however (whose name is Sweet Pea), did not seem frightened of B.B. at all. And this stumped B.B., who is used to small things scurrying away from his 90-pound frame. He casually regarded the cat, engaged in a cursory nose-touching ceremony, and resumed his normal position lying on his pillow underneath the window.

So here Sweet Pea remains for now, behaving disturbingly polite and undemanding. She uses her litter box, eats the food we give her, sleeps quietly on my bed, and has no interest in eating the guinea pigs. What a nice cat! I see a sadness in her eyes still. She doesn't quite understand why she is here. I gave the family my card and said they could contact me to check on her. So far, they have not.

Sweet Pea