Costco Kitty

Last night we went to Costco to get mattresses for the new daybed/trundle bed in the guest room. On our walk across the parking lot to Bed, Bath and Beyond for twin sheets we came upon a little black and white tuxedo kitty. He was friendly, seemed healthy, but his white paws were oh so filthy, indicating he'd been out a while. I picked him up and he purrrrrrrrred. What was he doing there amidst the scary SUVs and sedans? The huge parking lot is surrounded by a major freeway, a 6-lane busy street and a 4-lane busy street. There are houses behind Costco and apartments behind the office supply store and huge drug strore across the 4-lane street - I suppose he came from either of those places, or worse, he was dumped. We couldn't leave him so we brought him home. The sheets could wait. The little guy (and yes, he's definitely a boy kitty), was soooo happy to be with us. He sat on my lap and purred and kneaded his filthy white paws on my lap. We put him in our garage with a litter box (whiche he knew how to use) and food and water. Since he could be positive for feline lukemia or FIV ("kitty AIDS") we couldn't risk infecting our other cats. We washed and changed clothes after each visit with him to be on the safe side. He wolfed down some food - the same food that is currently being snubbed by our three portly cats by the way. This morning we took him to the vet for tests and to be neutered. I haven't yet called the humane society. I know I should. He might be someone's cat. Someone might be missing him and care for him despite the fact he had no collar, no ID chip, was not neutered and was in a busy and dangerous parking lot. I'd hate to give him back to a less than ideal home. Certainly, if I see ads posted, I'll contact the owner.

There was a recent incident in our news where a woman's dog got out, wound up at the pound, she was too late to retrieve him, and he was adopted to another family as a birthday present for their 10 year old daughter. There was flurry of newspaper and internet commentary as to who should get the dog - the dog had been found without a collar (the woman was afraid he'd get it caught on something and choke) and he was not neutered. As a rule, the Humane Society neuters, so the dog got the operation in the end. The family gave the dog back and the Humane Society has changed their rules and processes slightly to help prevent similar situations.

I should call. I know I'd be upset if one of our cats got out (they don't wear collars since they're always indoors but they are spayed and neutered) and someone "adopted" him or her without any attempt to find the owner. I'll keep you posted.