On Stray to Stay

Shortly after Zach and I got married, a new cat started showing up in our neighborhood. Call it foreshadowing, an omen, and/or a blessing. I was thrilled! He was a blue tabby and he was so friendly. Naturally, I started feeding him and he seemed very eager to walk into our house. He would walk right in behind us and because we already had cats, I knew I needed to keep him separate from them.

However, it wasn’t long before he showed up injured. He had a limp and had clearly hurt one of his back feet. A fellow animal-loving neighbor and I had been sharing care for him in some ways so we banded together, her husband took him to the vet, and we both paid for him to get his foot repaired and to also be neutered. A few days before his appointment, Zach and I were talking about this little stray kitty. All it took was for him to say, “I worry that some day we’re going to see he’s been hit by a car and…”. And that was it. I had decided we were adopting him.

This is one of the best decisions we had made. Zach named him Biscuit Buttersworth III. He’s added so much to our life and I can’t imagine not having him. While Midnight isn’t a fan, he and Max have become brothers and play constantly.

The point of my post today is simple. Sometimes you have to step up and be the change you want to see. In the rescue community, we are consistently receiving requests to care for animals that have been abandoned, neglected, and found with no backstory. We want to help them all, but the truth is, there is not enough space. Every rescue is very full and has been for a very long time.

The real change we need to see is population control. Spay and neuter your pets. That is the only way we can get the numbers to be more manageable. Consider fostering – we always need more space and if a dog or cat could stay with you temporarily until it finds its forever home, that would be a huge help. Adopt from local shelters. Help a stray animal. You might just find they found their forever home with you!