My neighborhood in Southeast Portland, Oregon is filled with people who love animals; there are many families who have both cats and dogs as their pets, who are loved and treated well. An older lady who lived only about six doors down from me had never worked or married. She had cared for her mother until she passed on, and then lived in her home with many kitties, including kittens she tried to sell. Not only was she unsuccessful in her venture, but Animal Control had to come numerous times to remove cats as her house was overrun with cats, both living and deceased. In August, 2017, she was finally determined to be unable to care for herself alone and was placed in a care facility. Animal Control again came to remove any cats living in her home, but there was one kitty they couldn't catch and they advised us, her concerned neighbors, that they wouldn't be making a 3rd trip to attempt to catch it as they had other animals they needed to rescue. We were told that if we caught the cat we could bring it out to Animal Control ourselves; otherwise, the cat was on it's own.
If you have read the memorial I wrote about the baby crow that fell out of it's nest and how we'd tried to care for it, then you will know that the adult crows return every year to our area, knowing we will leave "old" canned cat food outside for them which they take back to the nest for their hatchlings to eat, and they get good meals for themselves as well. In June, 2018, I noticed a little two toned brown cat with long fur eating from the dish I'd left out for the crows. It was just a little thing, under 10 lbs., and all too thin. We began leaving some food for the crows and other food for the kitty. At first, the kitty ran away as soon as it realized we were outside the house, but, as the days went on, the kitty adjusted to our presence to the extent that it wouldn't bolt and run at first sight of us. My sister and I started sitting on the back steps of the house when the food was put down and bringing the food just a little bit closer every few days; we also started talking softly to the kitty, who we called "Ella" and "kitten cat", for want of a better name. She had blue eyes and a white spot near her nose. Other than that, she was a soft brown with dark brown tail, feet and ears. And, one morning in early July, she actually allowed my sister to pet her. She began to start purring when we fed her, eating while we petted her. She still wanted to run off if she felt we posed too much of a threat to her. This past Summer was a very hot one in Portland, Oregon, so we made certain that there was fresh water outside at least once to twice a day for the birds and the little kitty as well. Our neighbors had been watching the kitty's progress and were amazed at the change in little "Ella", for, by the end of July, the kitty not only allowed us to pet her while she ate, she rubbed up against a couple of friends who were in the yard when she came for food. She wasn't wolfing down her food as she had before and was eating two to three times a day! We were thrilled with her progress and then became alarmed when she almost stopped eating completely, a few days before Labor Day weekend. We were able to put her in a cat carrier and get her to an emergency vet clinic for tests. The vet diagnosed her as having dental problems, with a canine tooth so badly abscessed that it had to be removed. She was wormed and "defleaed"; shots would need to come later along with more dental work. We brought her home and I brought her inside my bedroom and the middle bedroom so she wouldn't be out in the weather, for the vet had also said that, without our ongoing care she would not have made it thru the coming Winter. We kept her separate from our other three kitties, although they knew that they were only separated by two bedroom doors. Then, just a few days ago, she stopped eating more than about a few spoonfuls of food at a time. I was concerned about her mouth and also wondering if she had gotten more than just a little spoiled, but she just seemed too hungry. I called the vet and they advised me to put her on some special food that would be easy for her to digest; I just needed to come and get it. Last night she was mewing and I was trying to get her to eat, to no avail. I was wondering if she needed to be brought back in, went into the kitchen with dishes needing to be cleaned, and then went back to my bedroom. She was lying in front of my bedroom dresser, dead. My heart has broken into a thousand little pieces....... When I was able to compose myself to call the vet, all I remember is the receptionist saying that little Ella had "many health issues" and she'd lived longer than she would have without our loving care.
One of our neighbors helped dig a place for her among the flowers and not far from two other loved and deceased kitties, Schlomo and Shadow. Another neighbor brought over flowers and gave me some money to help defray the costs of all her tests, etc. Our neighbors are very kind and thoughtful and I was able to share my love with a sweet, frightened little kitty at the end of her days. I know she is at the Rainbow Bridge with our other cats, dogs, hamsters, etc. , playing and no longer afraid or in pain. I just can't believe how attached I got to her, how much I love her and how much I miss her. Sweet little girl, cat. I love and miss you, sweet little Ella.