3 of 9 Down

(Tizzy...photo by Gary)

We are keeping our son's cat. This "temporary" arrangement has persisted about a year now.

The cat is called Tizzy (I refuse to ever say that a pet is named whatever, because I maintain that we can never know what they call themselves). My son found her along an interstate highway on-ramp in a cold rain, as a tiny kitten, and she would have surely died had he not rescued her.

Life # 1 used up.

Son's family enjoyed a happy home until one day Tizzy managed to get out and got hit along the busy street out front. She was able to make it home, and fortunately the only damage was a broken front leg, which necessitated a cast. Within a couple weeks the cast was off, with no apparent lasting effects.

But there went Life # 2.

In the meanwhile, our son and daughter-in-law conceived another child, and daughter-in-law could no longer take her allergy meds while pregnant. So we were asked--and agreed--to take Tizzy temporarily until after the baby was born and normal allergy treatments could resume. Well, you certainly can see where this is going....son, the cat person, gets outvoted and young Tizzy cannot come home.

So it looks like we've got a cat. I should say another cat--we already have 3 of our own.  Plus Tizzy, plus our daughter's cat: 5 in total.  That's borderline nuts, I'm afraid.

Which brings us to last week. Tizzy, now an indoor-outdoor cat, failed to come home one night (our cats always sleep in at night). And she remained gone the next night, and the next.... We canvassed the neighborhood, scouted backyards and roadsides, all to no avail. Young Tizzy was toast, or so we thought, until on the 4th day she showed up, rather bedraggled, but uninjured. We figure she may have gotten trapped in someone's outbuilding or shed, until the door was opened again several days later. Who knows?

But cross off Life # 3.

She is a sweet cat, a calico as you can see from the photo. Here's hoping that lives 4 thru 9 will remain unused for a long time.