There are times in our life when we are compelled to do the right thing, like intervening in the life of a homeless animal.  Sometimes the best plans are thwarted…especially when there’s a cat involved. This is the story of a man who did the right thing and a cat who could play a good game of mouse.

“Mama” was a street kitty. She and her kitten showed up at the man’s house. He had a reputation in the cat community for being a kind-hearted man. She and her kitten felt safe in his yard. When he started feeding them deli-turkey she knew this was the best place for her and her kitten.

One day the kitten left. This concerned “mama” greatly. She left the safety of the man’s yard for a while. Meanwhile the tamed kitten was given medical care and adopted.

When “mama” returned the man welcomed her. He made the decision that kittens would not be part of her future. She was gently captured and taken to Nashville Humane’s Rover where she was spayed. That afternoon the man took her home to recover. And that’s when the cat played mouse with the man.

He’d created a safe, quiet place in the bathroom for “mama” to recover. Safe and quiet were things that “mama” had little interest. She was, after all, a street cat. She was used to doing things her way. The kind man opened the door to give her fresh food and water. “Mama” was nowhere to be seen.

After a thorough search “mama” was found and returned to the bathroom. Her escape route was blocked. Or so he thought…

Day two…”mama” escaped…he blocked her new escape route.

Day three….”mama” escaped….the man blocked yet another escape route.

Day four….”mama” escaped…the man found the latest escape route, but this time he couldn’t block it successfully without locking her into her new hiding space. So she watched him and gloated. She would come out for food and water, then return quickly. No matter what the man did “mama” foiled his plans. She had her own agenda and the man with deli-turkey would not thwart it.

Meanwhile the man’s resident cats were growing increasingly displeased with the man. He was caught between “THAT cat” and “THE” house cats. He couldn’t win.

There are times in our life when we are compelled to do the right thing, like spaying a feral cat. Sometimes in our eagerness to do the right thing we come across a creature – a cat in this case– that has the ability to put us in check at every move. So the man with the deli-turkey changed the life of a feral cat. And she is grateful. She tells her friends about the kind-hearted man with the deli-turkey that lives just around the corner knowing he’ll be compelled to help her friends and that some of her friends might enjoy a good game of cat and mouse!

Join Crossroads Pets March 15^th from 11AM – 3PM for Crossroads Cat Connection, our first adoption event of the year. We’ll be hosting a cat specific adoption event that includes Metro Animal Care and Control, Eva’s Eden, Pet Community Center, and The Cat Shoppe.