During the summer of 2000, in June, I think it was, my neighbor, whom I did not know at the time was carrying a little baby kitten to some of the neighbors looking for a home for it. She never came to my door. My cat Liebchen had died in September 1995 and I had not taken in another cat. Liebchen was 13 years old when he died. I was heartbroken. He had been with me since he was seven weeks old.

Anyway, I didn't think any more about the little kitty that she was carrying around the neighborhood. Till one day I was looking out the window over my kitchen sink and there was a little ball of grey fur out there. I did my best to ignore her/him. Three adult cats were with her. Well, they all came the next day and the next and on and on. Until finally I broke down and took out some food and did so every day after that. The little ball of grey fur wouldn't let me get any where near her/him. Of course at this point in time I didn't know its gender.

Every day the three adults cats would come with Little Grey as that is what I called her at that time. The months rolled by, July, Sept, Oct, Nov. and it was cold weather time.

Oh yes, I had told God that I wouldn't get another cat unless HE put it on my doorstep after my Liebchen had died, and this is an important point in this story.

I was getting quite concerned because soon freezing temperatures would arrive and I just knew in my heart that Little Grey wouldn't survive the Winter. So, I told God that if YOU want me to have this cat then you will have to put it on my door step.

Needless to say I had some time before purchased a littler box, litter and a carrying case and had them waiting, just in case. Well, on June 12, 2000 it had gotten dark and I hadn't seen Little Grey all day. I had just put the harness on my dog Sasha and was going to take her out to do her duty when I heard my son and my young granddaughter outside talking to Little Grey. So knowing that she hadn't had any food that day and seeing an opportunity, considering that she had never come up to the back door and the three adult cats weren't anywhere in sight and had never come when it was dark, I guess you could say that I took this as a sign and I had better act on it, and so I did.

I asked my son to take Sasha out the front door for a walk while I tried to get Little Grey in the house. So he did.

Little Grey was starved and overcame her fear and came up on the step and I kept moving the dish closer and closer to the door, which I had left open, and finally put the dish on the doorstep and when she went to get the food I gently pushed her and into the kitchen she went. She flew up against the stove and meowed like crazy and then dashed down the hall and I didn't know where she went. I didn't go looking for her figuring I would let her calm down a little.

When my son returned with Sasha he looked for her and found her hiding behind the toilet bowl. She "flew" out of the bathroom and into my room and hid. So we left her alone.

I had had the litter box set up for sometime and it was in the front bedroom that I didn't use and that's where I wanted her to go, but of course, she didn't.

Finally, I had to go to bed, not knowing exactly where Little Grey was. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning I heard awoke to loud noises and figured that she had gone into the front bedroom because I heard the gate that I put across the door to keep Sasha out bang.

When I got up later on there she was nicely ensconced just where I wanted her.

Every day I would put her food and water in the room. She hid behind a bureau and would only come out after I had left. Sasha was having a fit every day, making it quite clear to me that she didn't want this kitty in the house. Sasha is another rescued animal story.

Well, after days passed , MANY of them, Little Grey would come out of hiding and that is when I saw that her legs shone like silver and that is when I changed her name to Little Silver Grey. Believe it or not, she stayed in that room till the very end of April! At that point in time apparently, she decided on her very own to come out of the front room and has since that day claimed many a spot where she makes her quite at home. Sasha tolerates her, but they have never become buddies, however I keep hoping.

Little Silver Grey is still quite feral, but is so lovable. God has certainly blessed me with a very lovable gift.

The three adult cats came a few more times into the back yard after I had gotten Little Silver Grey into the house and then they stopped coming. I just know that God wanted me to have her, because there are many other yards in my neighborhood that they could have taken her.

We have foxes and coyotes in our area so she is a house cat only. And that's the story of my Little Silver Grey.

Copyright © Lucy Jenner
January 10, 2005