Good Deed

One of our favorite good deeds of 2007 was adopting a stray cat who showed up at our door.

One summer day, we opened our front door to find a rather thin and bedraggled black cat sitting underneath the small overhang on what amounts to our "porch" on our townhouse. This cat had long black hair—which was falling out—was very thin and appeared to be starving. It was not the pretty cat.

However, this cat was extremely friendly and affectionate and we immediately felt very sorry for it in that state. So.We fed the cat and watered it and soon realized that it was accustomed to being handled. It must, we figured, be a lost cat. We brought it in, bathed it, and very quickly decided to adopt it. With the long hair, we couldn't figure out if it was a male or female, but as near as we could ascertain it was a girl. We named her Mollie.

In short order my wife, Carole, took Mollie to the local veterinarian for shots and a checkup. She learned that "Mollie" was a neutered male. We'd have to change the name, we figured. But as he had been fixed, we now knew that at some time some family had cared for this cat, thus his familiarity with people, and his affectionate nature.Bringing him home from the vet, my son immediately latched onto a new name, relying on one of his favorite musicians: Andy renamed him "Marley", after the reggae star, Bob Marley. It fit.

Marley soon settled in to a comfortable routine with us. He would come in when he felt like it, and enjoyed spending the warm days out of doors. Our other cat, Sophie, who is very skittish and territorial, did not care for this recent addition to the household and, after some months, still has not accepted Marley. She hisses and spits and sometimes attacks Marley as she deems necessary. They have settled, apparently, on a compromise. Upstairs is Sophie's; downstairs is Marley's.

In the months since Marley's arrival, he has gained a lot of weight, his coat has completely filled in, and his hair is shiny and lustrous. He is, in fact, quite the healthy cat these days. He remains very affectionate, and we're glad of the happy circumstance that led him to our door. As is he, I'll bet.

In an addendum to this story, an acquaintance of my son's was visiting one day and saw Marley.

"What are you doing with Phil's cat?"

"Whose cat?" Andy asked.

"That's Phil's cat. They got tired of it and drove it to the church parking lot and dumped it out."

So much for human compassion, eh?

The happy and healthy Marley.

The imperious and intractable Sophie.