The story of Mia

For several months this past winter, we noticed a furry cat (without a full tail) running around our neighborhood and hiding. The cat would often come into our backyard, slowly approach our screen porch (where our 4 cats like to hang out) and then run away. If I tried to get close to the cat, it would jump over our fence and would not let us near it. In March, more of the neighbors were asking about the cat, asking if the cat belonged to anyone in the neighborhood. The cat didn't look malnourished so we figured it had a home. I was very invested in this cat as I had seen it for several months. Karel didn't want me to get attached to it (or feed it) as our senior cat Madison has a heart issue and we don't want her to get stressed.

Karel was in Europe for 2 weeks in early April and we were a few days away from Karel's mom returning home to Czech after spending almost 3 months with us. On April 4th, as I was walking Campy in the evening, I noticed the cat was eating a cracker in someone's front yard. Then on the 5th, the cat was across the street looking for food in a grill in a neighbors driveway. The way it was scavenging for food made me think that it didn't have a home. I would often see it hiding under cars. Anytime I would try to go near it, it would run away. I was able to get close one evening but the cat got scared and ran into the drain. As I was looking at the cat in the drain, the person at the house asked if this was my cat and I said no. He said the cat is very scared.

I walked back home and got some cat food and walked back up to the drain. I sat on the ground and left the food for the cat and it jumped out the drain, at a few pieces and then jumped back into the drain. I could tell it was really hungry. I left a pile of food for the cat by the drain, hoping that it would trust me.

The next day in the evening, I walked outside and yelled "kitty kitty" and to my surprise the cat ran to me. It remembered me! It had been hiding under cars throughout the neighborhood so it must have learned where I lived. The cat meowed as it came to me and I could tell it was really hungry. Even though it looked well fed, it was very skinny - all the fur was making it look plump.

I brought out some wet cat food on a paper plate and the cat ate it up. I brought out a water bowl and some more dry food. The cat was very sweet and not overly scared like it was the past few days when I tried to get close to it. It even let me pick it up.

Once I knew I had it's trust and it knew where I lived, I hoped that it would return the next evening. When I walked outside with Campy the next morning, the cat ran to me. It wasn't afraid of Campy. I was so happy to see "kitty." I gave it more food. In the evening, it came back and I made it bed inside a big storage container but it didn't want to sleep there.

The next day I decided to make some flyers to see if I could find the owner of the cat. I printed out several flyers and hung them around our neighborhood and the surrounding street signs outside of our neighborhood.

On the morning of the 7th I was hoping to see the kitty but it was not there. I was so worried. I had gotten attached to it and now it wasn't coming to me. During my morning run I couldn't stop thinking about it. After my run, I walked into our backyard and over our wooden fence into the forest and I yelled "kitty kitty." After a few minutes, I heard meowing. There was the kitty in the woods. It even pooped in front of me and covered it. At this point, I had enough with it being outside and I needed to bring it inside.

I managed to get myself over our fence and grab the cat. It was ok with me holding it but when I got closer to the front door, it got very scared and tried to escape from my arms. I ran inside and brought the cat upstairs to our spare bedroom and the cat was so afraid. It didn't know what to do so it ran and hide. I brought in a litter box and some food and water and then shut the door. I didn't want our other cats to get stressed.

While all of this was going on, I was less than an hour away from taking Karel's mom to Charlotte (2 hour drive each way) for her return flight to Czech. During this time, I was worried about what to say to Karel as I knew Karel wouldn't be excited that I rescued another cat.

Thankfully, our friend and athlete Ruthanne came over to check on the kitty and it was very affectionate and playful while she was there.

When I returned home from my 5+ hour trip, I was nervous to see the kitty - I wasn't sure if it was going to be stressed. After spending some time with Campy and our 4 other cats, I spent some time in the room with the kitty and I could tell that it was so happy. It could finally relax and get some sleep. I could feel the love and affection that it was giving me as a way of thanking me for bringing it inside.

I finally told Karel (via text) and we video chatted later that evening. He was worried about Madison but he also said that he thought it was very beautiful and sweet (he has a soft spot for cats in his heart). Karel didn't feel that we should keep the cat (we already have 4) and that we would need to find it a home. I was falling in love with this cat so I knew it would be really hard for me to give it away.

A week later, I took it to our local vet and got some good/bad news. The cat is an American Bobtail (thus the short tail), it was a girl, it had a chip and an owner. Although I was incredibly sad about the situation, I was also happy that I could return this cat to the owner if it had been missing it. The vet tech called the owner that was attached to the number from the chip and no one answered. The person had their number marked as private so I was not able to call the number directly (only the vet). The vet left a message with my number, letting the person know that I had the cat. The cat's name was "sweetie pie" and it was chipped in 2022 - so the cat was at least 2 years old.

The next few days were a little stressful as I was wondering if I would get a call from the original owner. I also had flyers all throughout our area and was waiting for a call. Days went by and then a week or two. Karel returned home from his trip and he instantly fell in love with this cat. After almost three weeks, we named her Mia.

Although Mia was enjoying her room, we knew the hard part was about to come. We needed to see if she could get along with our established pack. Although we wanted to keep Mia, we didn't know if our crew would accept her. Plus, with Campy being old, blind and deaf, we didn't want any tension in the house with the new cat and Campy (as he can't defend himself). I never gave up on Mia. I was confident that with some work, she could stay with us.

The next week was rough. It was a very slow processes of exchanging smells behind closed doors, introducing the cats slowly with treats and then gradual introductions with our pack of four. It's been very easy to bring in our latest cats (Asher, Sylvi and Ella) as they were all very young. But to bring in Mia - who is 2-3 years old and very confident was a lot of work. We had our doubts and there were some rough days with some of our cats showing their dominance (especially Ella and Asher) but overtime - with a lot of patience - we were able to feel comfortable with Mia in the house around our crew. It took a good month before everyone started to become more tolerable of one another and a good two months before we felt like our crew was accepting of Mia. Oddly enough, Madison (our senior with the heart issue who we thought would be most stressed) hasn't shown any interest in Mia. She doesn't seem bothered by her and Mia hasn't bothered her. It took a while for Mia to break some of her bad habits that she learned outside but she has become the sweetest, most playful and talkative cat. Mia is a good listener and she knows Campy is off limits. Asher did not like Mia when she came but now they play together. Ella is still sassy around Mia as Ella think she is the princess of the house but overall, it's all working out.

We couldn't imagine life without Mia and we are so happy that we gave her a chance. Mia quickly made herself at home. We love our rescue animals because of the unconditional love that they show us. Mia is so much fun and she shows us every day that she is loving her new life with us. She loves watching birds and squirrels in the patio, talking to us, playing with toys on the stairs, sleeping by the front window and laying out the couch with us. She loves to be kissed and held.