CHARLIE'S
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
CHAPTER FIVE
After a long ride, we came to a stop. The big male human picked up my box and carried it into a house. When he let me out of the box, I saw for the first time, a small adult female human, who took one look at me and said," Beautiful" ! I did not know what to expect, so I began to investigate and try to locate any possible enemies. As I walked around and carefully smelled the area, everyone just sat around and watched me.
In a few minutes the female human fixed me some food. I was so sick with fear that I could only eat a little, but I ate what I could. It had already gotten dark, so both humans began to prepare for bed. The small female human left a light on in the kitchen for me. This was good, because if something tried to attack me in the night, at least I would know what I was fighting.
The house got real quiet and I did not know what to expect. So I began to look for a place that I could defend myself from. I needed some place high. The top of the refrigerator looked perfect. I would have a have a set of cabinets behind me so nothing could come up from behind, and I would have a good view of any enemy coming to attack me. It was the perfect place to defend myself from. I tried to stay awake, but I was sooo tired. Finally, I closed my eyes for only a moment.
I heard a noise and opened my eyes and jerked up my head. It was the big male human. He looked around for a minute and then saw me on top of the refridgerator. He looked up at me and smiled. I did not like his smile. As a matter of fact, I did not like anything about him. He finally turned around and went to bed. I kept my eyes open the rest of the night.
The next day I got to check out the rest of the house and discovered that no other animals lived there. This put my mind at ease and I could relax more. Over the next few weeks, I came to realize that I was in no danger. So I settled down and waited for Mama to come for me. I knew that she was very busy in the daytime, but always stayed up late at night, so I concluded that she would be coming at night.
I observed that most humans came in and out of a door in what they called the Living room. So at night I would lay in the middle of the living room floor facing the door. That way when Mama came for me, she could not miss me. Night after night, I lay awake in the living room floor waitng for Mama. After several months, I almost gave up.
Then one late afternoon, the big human brought in an older lady who I later learned was his Mother. She stayed with us for a few days. She looked like Mama,but not exactly. She smelled like Mama, but not exactly. She sounded like Mama, but not exactly. Then when everyone went to bed, she stayed up sitting in the big chair just like Mama used to do. I wondered; "Could this be Mama and she has forgotten who I am?" I walked around the chair several times and she ignored me. Mama would never do that.
So finally I jumped up in her lap with one quick jump and I guess I startled her because she yelled. But then she calmed down and started petting me. It was so nice to be in a lap again and one almost like Mama's. I put my head down and went to sleep. It was the first time that I had felt safe since I had come to this house. I slept for about two hours and then she went to bed, just like Mama.
I had not wanted to sit in anyone's lap since I had been at this house. Every evening the big human would pick me up and put me on his lap, hold me there and pet me. I didn't like it very much, but I tolerated it. Then as soon as he let me go, I would jump down and walk away. I really did not want anything to do with that big human.
But since the older lady left, I began to realize how much I really missed being in a nice lap. So, one night when the big human picked me up and petted me and then let me go, I decided not to jump down. The little human looked over at us and gave us a funny look. Then she said, "I see the trust level is rising". I didn't know what she was talking about, so I put my head down on his knee and went to sleep.
FOOTNOTE FROM BIG HUMAN:
Charlie has been living in and enjoying his new home ever since July 1997.
Charlie and I decided to write his autobiography to let others know about the stress a shelter cat goes through when being adopted. A lot of patience and a lot of love goes a long way in calming the fears of a new cat in your home. Remember, no matter how nice your home is, it's a strange, hostile place to your new cat. But always remember, no matter how hard a time your new cat in adjusting, it's better than the alternative of The Death Sentence that shelter cats get everyday.
Thank You for helping rescue shelter cats. Your adopted shelter cat will love you the rest of your life almost as much as you love him or her!
"Well, that's all folkes. Don't forget to leave me a message or E-mail me and let me know what you thought of my Autobiography. MEOW"