Another great story by my friend, Joel Schmid. Joel writes stories about the cats on the streets that I feed, and some, closer to home. I have been feeding, and sheltering on my porch, a Calico cat that has been a neighborhood cat for well over 10 years - I named her Annabelle way back when. Annabelle would never allow me to get too close to her. Until one day....
A
Guardian Angel - Annabelle's Story
Some
who wander may not want to be found, but once they are found they are never
really lost …
Annabelle knew
something was wrong when she woke up under a small bush that had recently been
set ablaze with bright red and yellow leaves from falls chilly nights.
She could not
remember how she had gotten there last night, nor when she had eaten last.
Normally she existed fairly well on the free handouts from the humans along
Brett Street, and she knew she always had a safe haven from the cold and wet
nights on the human female's porch chair - but even that small comfort had been
hit-and-miss lately. The human female cared for many cats and kittens, and
sometimes Annabelle would pad warily up to the dull metal panel of the porches
storm door only to find the square stone that propped it open just wide enough
for her was missing and the door closed against her. On days when her hips did
not pain her too badly she would rear up and set her front paws delicately on
the edge of the divide between the doors metal and glass panels to peer inside.
There she would see the latest batch of some poor moms kittens curled up in
little balls in a warm human made nest - or occasionally there would be some strange
cat staring back at her from inside one of the humans cages. She did not think
the human female did any harm to these cats and kittens, and the adult cats
were always gone the next day. No smell of fear was ever left behind, so the
human female was forgiven this trespass in Annabelle's mind each time it had
happened.
She was a true
feral - never allowing a human to touch her or handle her - and she was quite
proud of this. She tended to look upon other cats she could see in the human
houses windows with a bit of disdain, thinking that she would not trade her
freedom for a life indoors for anything. She had learned her lesson the hard
way. After a joyous few weeks as a young kitten living with humans they had
inexplicably moved away and left her behind. The man had set her outside and
mumbled something in human-speak, and then had unceremoniously shut the door in
her face. She hadn't given it much thought at the time (the flutter of a
beautiful white butterfly had distracted her almost instantly that day and the
chase was on) but when she had wandered back to the house several hours later
there was no response to her plaintive meows and scratching at the door. She
had sat there all through the night, waiting for the humans to finally open the
door and let her come back inside, but the house had remained resolutely
closed. She had given up the next morning and padded away down the street in a
huff, vowing to never trust a human
again.
That was almost
11 years ago now, and she had remained mostly true to her vow. Although she had
found that she did have to rely on humans occasionally - if she wanted to eat
and find a shelter from the rain and blustery cold winds of Rochester winters.
Luckily she had established a well-worn territory up and down Brett Street, where
she could get a meal almost any day of the week and a warm cozy bed in an old
chair on the human female's porch at the very end of her street. (Annabelle
tended to think of Brett St. as "hers") The human female that
provided her shelter always spoke in kind tones to her, and had tried to touch
her a few times, but Annabelle bolted any time the human got too close, not
willing to trust her benefactor even for a moment. There had been a couple of
wandering toms over the years that had entered her territory, yowling their
songs of love and lust - but she had never been interested in pursuing them. In fact she was quite uninterested in tom's
altogether (she had been spayed by her family of humans who had so ungraciously
abandoned her but had no idea) and didn’t want to roam far from "her
street" to go looking for a suitor when she heard them.
Over the last
year her back legs and hips had begun to flare with dull aches and pains,
growing a little sharper on wet or rainy days. Sometimes when it was very cold
and wet at the same time she would wait for the human female to climb into her
car and zoom away for the day and then sneak through the door crack to curl up
on the old chair. She could watch the fat grey clouds roll by outside the
windows of the human's porch, inhaling the heady perfume of the many cats that
lived with her. On those days she was appreciative of the comfort those smells
gave her, and it was on those days that she came closest to actually liking a
human as well. Sometimes she wished she could allow the human to pet her and
maybe give her something to eat, but her ingrained habits died hard, and she
found herself scurrying out the opening left by the door as soon as the human's
car returned later in the afternoon despite her best intentions.
Today she would
very much like to retire to the human's porch chair, but she wondered if her
failing back legs would be able to carry her. The late October air had a nasty
chill in it this morning, and her still working nose could smell the sharp tang
of frost that would soon be on the way. She was not the least bit hungry either
- another mark in the worrisome column that was adding up fast to become a not
so great day for her. She lifted her chin and snuffled the air under the
brightly colored bush to see what scents might be out there, deciding after a
few minutes to wait a while for the sun to emerge and warm the air enough so
her old bones could handle a little walking. She watched a few human cars roll
by following their impossibly bright lights, her tail twitching just a little
as she waited. After a few minutes she found herself getting sleepy again
(lately she seemed to nap at the drop of a hat, something else that had changed
recently that she could not account for. She used to be able to patrol Brett Street
all night, but now she was lucky if she could stay awake for more than a few
hours) and she let herself drift off as she waited for the sun to climb a
little higher and warm up the faded street pavement.
She woke again
a few hours later, the bright autumn sun now high over her right shoulder and
setting every tree along Brett Street on fire in riotous color. She loved the
spicy aroma of fall leaves, but dreaded the cold snow that was sure to follow.
She could feel the heat from the street pavement radiating toward her, so she
decided she might as well get up and see if she could make it down to the human
female's porch. By now the human would have zoomed off in her car, and
hopefully the porch door would be open to her. She pushed herself to her feet,
feeling the familiar pain in her hips and joints. Today felt like it was going
to be a bad one, and she hoped she could make it that far. Maybe today would be
a good day to allow the human to touch her, to comfort her as she had wanted so
many times in the past. She thought her time might soon be drawing to a close,
and she wanted to test a human's trust just once more before she passed, to see
if they could redeem themselves just a little in her jaded heart.
She padded
carefully out from under the bush, over a short patch of grass in front of a
trim and tidy humans house, and onto the shoulder of the sun-warmed pavement.
Her gait was unsteady and wobbly, but she kept her head high and locked her
gaze on the far end of the street where she knew the human's porch awaited her.
She could smell the scents emanating from the humans road just like always - a
strange mixture of old stones, sticky tar, and a fine dusting of rubber
particles left by the cars round feet as they hurried along to who-knows-where.
She plodded along for a short distance, ignoring the pain from her back legs,
but soon she found herself stopping and sitting awkwardly to relieve the ache
that had settled into the base of her tail. She eyed the distant end of the
street, trying to judge how long it might take her to reach it. A few human
cars rolled noisily passed, swerving slightly to avoid her. Normally she would
have stuck to the thin stone curb to stay off the actual pavement, but today
she found she did not care if she was too close to the big metal monsters the
humans moved around in.
After a brief
rest she again heaved herself to her feet, but this time the pain from her hips
was immediate and sharp, nearly forcing her to sit again. She willed herself to
walk in as straight a line as she could anyway, and managed a few more cat
lengths (cats measured things in their own terms - like cat lengths or tail lengths) before having to sit again. She waited
a few minutes more and this time when she tried to stand up she was dismayed to
find that she couldn't. Instead she sank onto her belly, the warm heat of the
road soaking into her fur and giving at least some relief to the anguish that
had replaced her once strong and flexible hips. She decided she would wait a
while for the soothing heat from the road to ease her soreness before
attempting to move again. She looked around warily, knowing full well how
exposed and vulnerable she was out here along the edge of the street and the
curb. All it would take was a careless human in a car to flatten her like she
had seen happen to other hapless animals in the past. Minutes crept past as she
watched the shadows from a nearby tree crawl across the sunlit pavement around
her.
Fortunately for
her, a kind hearted human who actually knew of her habits and had seen her
patrolling the neighborhood had spotted her plight and were preparing to take
action.
She heard the
creak and slam of a human's house door, and swiveled her head in that direction
to see who was coming out. Would she have to try and flee or was she safe just lying
along the roads curb stones ? She saw a human female emerge from the house
directly opposite her position along the curb (but it was not the one who gave
her shelter in the old chair down the street) and walk toward her. She felt her
instincts ramping up to urge her to run, but the pain was still too sharp, so
instead she flattened herself down as close to the roads pavement as possible.
As she watched the human approach, she was even further alarmed to see that the
women was carrying one of the cages like the human female down at the end of
the street used to hold the adult cats she had seen from time to time staying
overnight on the porch. She meowed her most urgent plea she could muster to ask
this human to just leave her alone, but the women kept on coming toward her. The
woman was making soothing noises in human-speak, but Annabelle could not
understand a word of it. She wished humans could speak cat, and she had often
wondered why they never did, since they could do so many other amazing and
seemingly magical things. She watched warily as the human set the cage down
gently by the side of the curb and squatted down close to her, making more of
those soothing noises.
By now
Annabelle was frightened and a little panicky. She had no idea what this human
had in store for her, but she naturally assumed it wasn't good. However she
still could not force herself to her feet, so she settled for some self-defense
hissing as well as barring her age-yellowed teeth instead. The women did not
seem very intimidated however, so Annabelle decided to save her strength and
after a few moments stopped hissing and lay quietly, now resigned to whatever
this human would do.
But instead of
a swat or a kick, the women lifted her gently off the warm road pavement and
placed her inside the cage through an opening at the top onto a soft human
piece of cloth. Annabelle watched the humans hands lift up and away from her,
and the top of the cage was closed with her trapped inside. She could still see
out through the bars, and watched as she was lifted and carried down the street
in the original direction she had wanted to go - toward the house with the
porch at the end of Brett Street. She felt a little better seeing the end of
the street drawing closer - maybe this human would deliver her onto the porch
where she could rest in peace before deciding what to do next. She felt so
tired now after her most recent ordeals this morning, and wanted nothing more
than the sweet release of a cozy nap on the old chair. As the porch house grew
closer, she could see the black car the human rode in resting in the short
section of road it sat on when the human was not using it. That must mean the
human female was home today and if the women who was carrying her really did
intend to bring her there she would be meeting the human face to face. She felt
her heart quicken with just a touch of worry at the thought of this, despite
the drowsiness that was trying to cover her like a thick blanket of leaves.
After several
minutes the women carrying her little cage arrived at the end of Brett Street
and crossed over to the little white and brick house were Annabelle's porch
refuge was attached. The women climbed the few steps that led up to the porch
and pushed the creaky metal door open to carry her inside. Annabelle inhaled
the old familiar mix of the many cat scents that always emanated from the
porch, but this time she was carried straight up to the next door that opened into the human females house while the
women who had trapped her rapped loudly on its wooden surface. Soon Annabelle
herd the sound of approaching human footsteps. She watched as the wooden door
opened and there staring back at her was the human female who had been
providing her shelter for most of her life. She could not decide if she should
meow in gratitude or hiss in defense, so she ended up purring instead,
something that she had not done in a very long time.
She listened
warily from inside her cage as the two human women began talking to each other
in human-speak and even though she could not comprehend a word of it she
assumed they were discussing her and likely what they would do with her. She
hoped they would maybe just release her on the porch here, so she could crawl
up into the old chair (she could see it there by the porch windows, its old
inviting blanket still in place) and just relax for a while. The women who had
placed her in the cage set her down on the short fuzzy green surface that made
up the ground on the humans porch, spoke to the human who lived at the porch
house for a few more seconds, then turned and walked back out the creaky metal
door and down the short steps back onto Brett Street.
Annabelle turned
her head back to the owner of this human house and found herself looking right
into the eyes of the human. She had never been this close before, and never
been immobilized like she was now. The human did not look cruel or mean, instead
she looked kind and maybe worried. Annabelle was starting to think she may have
misjudged this human over all the past years, and felt a little sorry for it
now that she was so tired and in pain. The women made some comforting noises
and walked back through the door inside the house. She returned shortly wearing
a light coat and she had something on to cover her feet. She picked Annabelle's
cage up and carried her out to the little black car. It looked like Annabelle
was going to finally get to experience first-hand what it was like to zoom off
in that car this morning. The women placed her gently on the front seat
opposite the controls for the car and then walked around to the opposite side
and climbed in herself, making more comforting noises in Annabelle's direction.
The human turned something next to a wheel sticking out of the cars controls
and she heard an engine start up as well as felt a slight vibration under her
little cage. She meowed at the women, asking her where she was taking her and
why, but the women just kept making the same noises as she worked a lever
between the two front seats in the car and started it moving.
For the next
little while Annabelle waited patiently while the car moved along - sometimes
faster and sometimes slowing down. After what seemed like a long time the car
came to a final stop and the women made a few more comforting sounds toward her
while she opened the door and got out. She walked around to Annabelle's side
and carefully lifted her cage off the seat. The women carried her inside
another one of the human's buildings. Here the heady mix of animal scents was
much stronger than the ones from the women's porch. Most were dogs, but there
were a few cat smells mixed in. Her cage was set down on the floor for a few
minutes, and she listened carefully to the soft mummer of human voices as she
waited. She felt herself becoming drowsy again, despite the strange new
building and the pain from her hips.
Soon she was brought inside another room in the humans building, and a
male human carefully removed her from the metal cage. She thought about trying
to run then, but she knew she wouldn’t get far in her current shape, so she had
to settle for some hissing and growling instead. The human man gently poked and
prodded her, looking in her eyes and inside her mouth - all the while
conversing with the women in soft voices. She wished she knew what they were
saying. What were they going to do with her ? Would they ever let her go ? Now
the human male was wrapping her in another warm towel - this one actually felt
good. She felt a sharp sting on her neck, and she felt herself hiss again
involuntarily.
After a few
minutes she felt herself getting sleepy again. This time she just let herself
succumb. She slipped her eyes closed and followed the fading darkness down
deeper, away from all this pain and strange human smells. She just hoped the
next time she woke up she would be back on the old familiar chair on the warm
sunny porch ….
For Annabelle - whom I met a few times
as she darted out the door as I was coming in to drop something off to help
Janine in her efforts. I'm glad she was able to offer you a safe place to relax
from your wanderings and I hope you don’t look upon us humans to harshly from
your new comfy chair in heaven ….
Joel Schmid
