Curiosity Killed the Cat...

by Heather
(Kansas City)

Well fortunately cats have more than one life.. I never quite understood this term until Scorpio came into my life. He is the most curious animal I've ever owned.

Recently, I thought he was a goner. He got out of the house and was gone for almost 2 weeks. Until one day I came home and could hear a cat meowing for help. It was coming from my neighbor's yard, I wasn't really hopeful that it was my cat as I had asked around to no avail. I went around the house and located the sound coming from the crawl space hatch, which was open a little bit. I could see a pair of eye reflectors poking out at me, so I pulled it open and low and behold, it was my cat! I was so amazed with disbelief that it was like it had come back from pet cemetery or something. I scooped him up and brought him back home and fed him. He was so happy to be back that he hasn't left my side since.

How I came to know Scorpio is something of a sad story, but I believe in God and I believe he puts certain pets in our lives when we need them the most.

I've been battling cancer for the last 4 years. Funny thing is a month before my first diagnosis I had an extremely strong unction to go to animal shelter and get a pet. I already had a bird, but hadn't owned another pet in quite some time. So, I went down to the shelter without any expectations and looked at the dogs, didn't feel anything. Went to the cat room. They have benches to sit on and usually let one or two wander around while you can look at the ones in the cages. I sat down on the bench and just rested. One of the roaming cats jumped up on the bench and I petted it, then another cat jumped up too. The first cat hissed at the new cat. The new cat seemed unphased and just laid down beside me and put his paw on my leg. That was it! He was my boy. I learned his name was Rocky and he was a big boy - a 24 pound gray tabby- who lived in the "Jenny Craig" room. I loved his sweet spirit and he was my buddy and helped me recover from the trauma of my diagnosis, all my surgeries, and chemo. He was my best friend for 2 years.

Right before he passed, my friend Sandy ended up in the ICU ward from a stroke complication. While I was going back and forth from the hospital, I came home one night and had to rush Rocky to the emergency room where he died before the doctor could see him. I came home all sad, because now I didn't have any pets (my bird had passed away from old age a couple of months before). The next day my friend's daughter called me to let me know how Sandy was doing and I gave her the bad news. She said,"You know what? We've been swinging by feeding mom's cat, but I know it is lonely, why don't you take care of him until Mom gets out?" I was so grief stricken, but this I could do as I had met Scorpio a couple of times before. I remember Sandy telling me that he chose his name and that he used to fetch his toys like a dog. I was like...okay..suuuure he did and he does..haha.. until ... I brought him home.

There wasn't any strange adjustment period, just his intense curiosity. He followed me EVERYWHERE like a puppy dog, but a puppy with wings! He had to inspect what I was washing, what I was cooking, what I was reading and doing on the computer. What was I looking in the drawer for. He even had to inspect the paint when I was repainting the laundry room and got paw prints allow over the dryer and the floor. As well as when I am painting pictures, he wants to stomp around on it and make his own painting. If I am in the shower, he sits on the hamper and paws the curtain over to inspect what I am doing in there too.

He also had this hording of shiny things going on. He would cart off with my shiny jewelry, foil, a safety pin, etc. How I found out where his stash was, was when I was dying my hair and right in front of me hopped up on the sink from the hamper where he was perched inspecting the process of course and carted off with the foil tube and ran off with it, so I followed him to see where he would go with it and there it was under my roll top deck, a stash of other shiny objects. He doesn't do that anymore, but that was a trip.

Unfortunately, my friend didn't make it out of ICU, but I am glad Scorpio has become a permanent part of my life and that he made it back home. I love him very much and I tell him that every day and he tells he loves me too. I am pleased that he is Siamese!

~H

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