"A few months ago at our apartment complex in Savannah, Georgia, a little cat began to come around. Those who are from there know that there are stray cats EVERYWHERE and they normally are just obnoxious.
I don't usually like cats much, but this one was cute. The neighbor across the hall started feeding her. And with that, came all of the other strays in the area. She said she would take her inside, but her dog wasn't having it.
Adam shook his head every time we walked by the kitty area in disagreement with cat-lady's tactics. Meanwhile I would sit on the cement outside of our apartment and play with her occasionally. Adam would ask me, "You know she can't come inside, right?" I always nodded in agreement.
I resorted to calling her "kitty." I couldn't give her a real name because I knew that she wasn't my cat and she would never be my cat. In fact, we were leaving Savannah soon and I wouldn't ever see her again.
Adam chose to call her names that I shouldn't repeat here. She was always in his way. Between his feet, on his truck, in his truck. She drove him nuts.
Fast forward to December 19, 2008. We were moving out of the apartment and trying to shove everything we owned in our two vehicles. Kitty was having a great time. She was running around us, playing in the leaves, just all over the place. Adam had to remove the cat from the backseat of his truck at one point and I had to shoo her from inside our apt.
We packed up, and head out to Phoenix, Arizona. I have the radio cranked up so I stay alert. I thought to myself, thank heavens no one is here to hear me sing off key. We stopped in Alabama, then again in Abiliene, Texas (where it was sooooo cold). We left in the morning and somewhere along the first part of the day, I walkie talkied Adam and asked him if he was making weird noises. Like a baby crying. He thinks I am bonkers.
Now it's about 5:30 pm. I turn my radio down for some quiet time. And I hear that noise again. This time it sounds more like a cat. Again, I radio Adam and ask him if he is making noises. When he tells me no again, I say, "Ok, we HAVE to pull over, I think I am going crazy."
In Deming, New Mexico we stop at a gas station. I'm looking in the back seat. Then I pop the trunk. Adam opens it and we both jump back. A tarp fell out. I start laughing and then Adam looks closer. There was something moving behind the carpet on the side of my trunk. He peels it back and Kitty is peering at us through the darkness.
I take off like a bat out of hell to get this poor thing some food and water from the gas station. Adam's holding on to her. We couldn't just leave her there. So I volunteer to just let her go in my car. We've got about 5 hours til Phoenix. Poor Kitty. She has no idea where she is at and now while I am driving, she wants to explore. The steering column seems like the best place to be. As well as the dash board in front of my face. And my shoulders.
We stopped at a KMart somewhere about an hour later and get her in a carrier. By the time I get to Phoenix, I am so attached to this stupid cat, I am about in tears when Adam tells me we just have to let her go outside. "She'll be back," he told me. All day long I waited for her. Adam and I were outside for quite sometime playing the game, Does This Smell Like Cat Pee? She was nowhere. Then last night in the rain, she comes back. I was so happy.
Last night we named her Deming (though I will call her Demi). The litter box will be purchased today. And we now have a Christmas addition to the family.
Stupid cat. :)"
Life brings the unexpected and Deming is no exception. This holiday season as I reflect upon the things I am most grateful for, the hitchhiking kitty lands near the top of the list.
Happy holidays.
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