The Suprise Guest

My husband and I celebrated our 30th anniversary over this past weekend. The day before our actual anniversary we invited a group of friends over for a party. And we had a surprise guest! 

 It was a relatively nice day out. It was warm enough for need to wear a sleeveless shirt. (Summer’s not official over yet!) I was hopeful that we could have the gathering in our backyard. (It is so much easier than having people inside the house.) There were a few clouds and a threat of rain late in the evening, but I was feeling good about the day. 

 It was so nice that hours before the party was scheduled to begin we were sitting in the backyard. It was too good of a day to hide out inside! About an hour or so before the party was to begin, my husband looked over the gate on the west side of the yard (we have a fence that surrounds our backyard with 3 gates; one of the east side of the, one on the north and one of the west) and saw something. Standing atop the gate was a cat, one that we had never seen before. There are a few cats in the neighborhood and I frequently see gray and black ones for my morning walk. This cat, however was white on the bottom with a pattern of orange, gray, and black on the top. Somehow she managed to get on top of the gate and stood on there with her tail up in a question mark and observed her surroundings. 

 The two of us watched her carefully. We didn't want her getting in the backyard because we were worried about what she would do when she saw the fish in her pond. Or maybe she already had seen them and that’s why she was there? After posing there for several minutes, she leapt down and went into the brush on the side of the yard. 

 My husband went into action. Somehow he managed to find out where she was exactly and got her to come out. Amazingly, he was able to scoop her up without any problems. (I was afraid she might scratch or fight but she did not.) He opened the gate and took her out into our driveway. 

It is important to note that my husband and I are both very fond of cats. Our son would love it if we had a cat. The problem is my husband and I are both allergic. He managed, before we met, to live for several years with a cat that his mother owned, but he lived his life taking allergy medicine and puffing on Primatene Mist  Not the healthiest ways to spend your twenties. 

 

He put her down in the driveway. I followed and we tried to encourage her to walk out to the street. She didn't want to go, but did follow us. Again I will say that if I wasn't allergic, I would have swooped her up into my arms because she was just so darn cute. She crawled in and out and between our legs, brushing up against us. (WHY AM I ALLERGIC?) We eventually got her to go into the street and she went across to another neighbor's house. We slowly backed away and went back into the backyard with the gate firmly closed behind us.

 My husband immediately went inside to wash his hands and I wiped down my exposed legs that were already starting to itch a little bit. (Yes, I’m that much of a mess.) I was hoping that I wouldn't break out in hives if I cleaned the area quickly enough. 

 A couple of hours into our party, our guest suddenly reappeared. I have to assume she came in over the gate again, but I don't recall seeing her there, or if I did I'm not remembering it. She walked around our backyard area, charming guests and acting as if she owned the place. She never jumped up on any of the tables to try and get any food, however she did make herself quite at home on the outdoor sofa that we had. She even went in towards detached garage where we were keeping drinks. But she came out short while later without any prompting. 

 She did not have a collar. Many of our guests who have cats as their own pets, noticed that she had a notched ear signifying that she had been neutered. Our guests were as charmed as we were with this surprise visitor. However none of them were able to take her home with them. And again her staying was not possible due to our allergies. 

 The party wound down and our guests went home. We cleared the backyard of all the leftover food, garbage, and recyclables that had been left behind. We made sure that are surprise guest was not in the detached garage. We checked the entire area and did not see her. However we never saw her leave either. We finished cleaning up, went inside and collapsed because we were exhausted from the day. 

 The next day I got up and looked around outside to see if I could spy our guest. There was no sign of her. Both my husband and I were trying to figure out the way to keep her if she showed up. One thought would have been to keep her in the detached garage. It would be a safe space for both her and us. However it is not heated in the winter and we have no real way to heat it safely. We talked about her quite a lot that day. We both had grown incredibly attached to her even though we have allergies and she had only been around for a few hours. 

 Two days later still no sign of her. I hope she has found a place that is warm and safe to call home. I hope she has charmed some family as much as he turned us and that family has taken her in. Because she charmed us and we fell in love. I hope and pray that she has charmed someone else and lives out a healthy and happy life