(re-run)
Renee already had three cats. She wasn’t looking for another. So when her daughter-in-law called and said, “Mom, you need to adopt this cat,” Renee was thinking, No way, Renee.
But then she heard the kitty’s story, and she had to reconsider.
Renee’s son Brian and his wife were moving to Tennessee from California when they stopped at a rest stop and found a skinny cat up against the chain length fence that separated the rest stop from the freeway. She was about three months old and weighed three pounds. Had someone left the cat behind? Or put it there on purpose?
Sally scooped up the cat and fed it bits of cheese from her cheese stick and got it a drink of water in a fast food cup that Brian tore down to cat-head size. They couldn’t leave it there at the rest stop.
Their dog let them know how he felt about the cat when he ate the bathroom door to their apartment the first time they left the cat locked inside while they went to work.
That’s where Renee came in. Brian and Sally knew that his mom was a soft touch when it came to cats. Sally made the phone call.
“Mom, we have a wonderful little cat for you to adopt.”
“No thanks, I already have three cats,” Renee said.
When Sally poured out the story of the kitten and the fence and the cup and the cheese, Renee reconsidered.
“Well, two of my cats are pretty old . . .”
“This cat is so cute!” Sally said.
“And I do have some frequent flyer miles built up.”
“I will bring you the cat!”
“And I would hate to see it go to a shelter. . . “
“Thanks, Mom!”
United Airlines charged $100 to fly the cat, and Sally flew for free with the frequent flyer miles.
Flash forward a few years. The other three cats have gone to cat heaven, and Queen Victoria now weighs eight pounds and is the number one cat in Renee’s life. She even sleeps in Renee’s bed.
Queen Victoria, a Nashville cat.
“Nashville cats, play clean as country water,
Nashville cats, play wild as mountain dew.
Nashville cats, been playin’ since they’s babies,
Nashville cats, get work before they’re two.”
– The Lovin’ Spoonful
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 