18 Years After Pawing at a Husband and Wife From Shelter Cage, Cat Still Reaches Out for Them

Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/rescue-story-bootsie/

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In the fall of 2005, we lost our cat and were devastated. I told my husband to give me time. On New Year’s Eve, he suggested that we go to our local cat shelter, “just to look around.”

bootsie3 - 18 Years After Pawing at a Husband and Wife From Shelter Cage, Cat Still Reaches Out for Them — CAT. PHOTO: PIXABAY / ALDONAHAWTHORNE

We arrived at the shelter and decided to divide and conquer, as there were 60 to 70 cats milling around. I, for some reason, had it in my head that I would only look at older male ginger cats (I have no idea why, though I suspect it was a coping mechanism in order to process all those kitties). I leaned over to pet one, and as I pulled myself up, something touched the top of my head.

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I looked over and there was a small 8-month-old female tuxedo cat in a recovery cage, with her paw stretched out, reaching out for me, and a cryptic message taped on the outside of the cage: “Wire removed.” I played with her for a few minutes and moved on, but I kept thinking about how hard she had tried to get my attention.

bootsie2 - 18 Years After Pawing at a Husband and Wife From Shelter Cage, Cat Still Reaches Out for Them — CAT. PHOTO: PIXABAY / MADHULIKA RAWAL

My husband and I reconvened and he said, “I think I know which cat I would like to adopt.” And I said, “I do, too.” And, of course, we both walked to the tuxedo cat’s cage. I asked him why he chose her and he said, “As I was walking by, she reached out and snagged my sweater!” I think it’s fair to say that Bootsie (her forever name) adopted us.

We asked the shelter what the message “Wire removed” meant. They told us that one day about a month earlier, there were shelter volunteers outside when a car drove by and threw four kittens out of the car window. They all scattered in different directions and they were all found, but Bootsie’s jaw was broken. She was treated at the adjacent animal hospital and remained there for about four weeks. The day we adopted her had been her first day back at the shelter.

We took her home that day, she slept with us that night, and has been our constant companion. She is 19-years-old now, has lost her hearing, and has a bit of arthritis, but still reaches out. The picture is of her grabbing my hand.