The Good Friday Kitty

Today marks the third anniversary of Scruffy Gray (aka Scruffers, Ms Gray) being my faithful assistant office assistant (Giuseppe is the office assistant). Yes, it is true that I am one of those crazy cat people. I have always loved cats (and dogs too), but Scruffers has put me over the edge—and I am better off for it. The story of Scruffy Gray is told around this house often. It was on a cold March 9^th in 2009, that a scruffy gray cat came out from nowhere to win over the hearts of Heather and me—as well as our sensibilities. Giuseppe (our number one cat) and I were enjoying lunch that day when this scraggly, heavily-matted cat crawled out from out under our deck and plopped herself down to soak up the warming rays of the afternoon sun. We went out to meet her and saw that beneath that scruff was a loving cat. We fed her and allowed her to sleep in our garage to escape the cold 20 degree nighttime temperature. After three days we took her to the Skagit Valley Humane Society hoping she would be adopted because we just didn’t want to take in a second cat. It was a tough decision.

However, there was something about this cat that immediately tugged at me, and it was obvious that God had sent her to us. So after much debate (and a visit to see her at the Humane Society all alone and looking like death was nearing) we decided to adopt her as we knew that this older somewhat special needs kitty was probably not going to be adopted by anyone else. It was on Good Friday 2009 that Scruffy came home with us. We questioned our sanity as we took this abandoned cat in and slowly nursed her back to life giving her supplements and administering eye drops to her malnourished eyes. We had her shaved, removing the heavily matted and dirty fur that covered her. And we quarantined her in Heather's office until her fear slowly subsided and she was able to get along with Giuseppe. It was a long and trying process. We spent a considerable sum of money on her health care and questioned our sanity. One month after we had adopted her, the Vet was concerned that she may only have a few weeks to survive.

But, now three wonderful years later, the Good Friday kitty is providing us with much love and joy. We have an incredibly loving cat that we can't understand how and why anyone would have abandoned in the first place. She loves to snuggle every chance she can get. She appreciates her food and never snubs it. She loves to nap all over the house and enjoys chasing Giuseppe around from time to time. And when I'm on the road, she misses me and usually greets me at the door upon my return with a little love nip. Like the Cat Who Came For Christmas, the Good Friday Kitty, Scruffy Gray has provided us with much redemption and unconditional love. Our lives have been touched by this little fur ball and we are all the better for it. Tonight we tip our red wine back for you Scruffers, happy third anniversary. We still laugh when you received your “sex change.” We thought for nearly two years you were a boy! We have no idea how old you are and we don’t know how much longer you’ll grace our home. We pray that you stick around for awhile—and no matter how much longer you grace our home, you have already become a big part of us that will last forever.

There are lots of abandoned cats and dogs out there that need a loving home. And despite the expense and sometimes inconvenience of caring for one of these fur balls, they pay you back with unconditional (yes, even cats are capable of this) love and definitely help you get through this crazy world and times. Thanks, Scruffers for making my life a little (okay, a lot) better!

(Photos- Above: Scruffs now. Below: Scruffs the day she arrived)