The Queen and I

Shortly after I moved into my current apartment about three years ago, I realized that there was a group of feral cats living around. They seemed pretty young and healthy, but for some odd reason, each of their right ears had been clipped. I learned later this means they have been captured by some local group, gotten their shots and fixed. To avoid euthanizing them, they are released in the area they were caught.

So occasionally, at first, I would toss them some food. They would watch from the fence, or under the cars in the parking lot, or some other safe spot at a good distance, and not approach until I went in. As time went by, they came closer and closer, until finally they were running up to within a few feet in anticipation of food.

Next, I would sit down before I scattered the food, and they became accustomed to the fact I would sit and watch them eat. Then I started putting the food closer and closer to my feet, and they got used to being within reaching distance.

Then I started reaching.

I got a few good swats and scratches, and initially, they would dart off and snap their tails in irritation, but they eventually got used to the indignity of being touched by this odd creature with the food. I got some good laughs during the stage where they would swat at my hand in exasperation- not trying to hurt me, just trying to say "Would you for God's sake STOP that!" And finally one of them, I'll refer to her as "Queen" for now (I haven't actually chosen a name), realized that she really liked being petted. A while more, and she would come running as soon as she saw me, food or not.

So after nearly three years of courting, I now have a cat. Vice versa, actually. I brought her inside for the first time a couple of months ago. I was sort of expecting a panic phase, but she strutted around and inspected, then curled up between my feet and went to sleep, purring like a little lawn mower. I put her back out before I went to bed, but within a couple of days she made it very clear that she intended to stay inside.

As the weather got warmer, I started leaving the porch door open a bit, so she could leave when she chose. Now the porch is six feet off the ground, and she immediately realized which way the egress was. I considered, but never imagined it was possible, that she might be able to jump six vertical feet and come back in. She could, and did. She likes to sit in a sheltered spot and watch the world go by, so when she came back in the door after two hours, my first thought was that she'd found something to hide behind on the the porch. I don't have much on my porch so I got up to look. The sudden movement startled her, and she darted and jumped. If I hadn't seen her jump, I don't know how long it would have taken me to realize or believe that the egress was also the ingress.

Five minutes later, she trotted back in, gave me a cat wink (both eyes), and headed over to the food bowl.

Okay, so that's a long preface to the story I want to tell: a week or so ago, about 1:00 in the morning, I was listening to music and playing on my computer. Out of the corner of my eye, The Queen slips through the door. In the periphery of my vision, I could see that she was carrying something light tan. Uh-oh, time for a present; I'm going to have to deal with some messy dead rodent. So she scurries over to me, looks up, and drops her present. She looks up again, gives me that cat wink, and saunters on over to the food bowl.

I lean over and pick up.... a half-eaten cheeseburger. No cat bites, just curved people bites.

"Hey guy, caught you some people food."

I really like her.