Lost and Found

So I'm not really a fan of cats....I've had a cat. He was a Christmas gift when I was 6....dad brought him home from work one night, (a residence-hall-confiscation-kitty!)... I named him Happy. He was an all black kitty, with green eyes and a little white patch on his tummy. He was a good cat in his youth--very playful...loved balls of tinfoil, string, and the 'Nip. But he was rather owly in his later years--not nearly as affectionate. Maybe I was too rough on him while he was a young kitty. Well...maybe my sister, brother, and I were too rough on him while he was a young kitty. Maybe it was the addition of a new four-legged pet with a tail when he was 13.....her name was Gracie. But I highly doubt it was the dog that made Happy ditch his namesake...she loved him even when she was a tumbling, curious, chewing, pointy eared ball of CUTENESS. When Gracie came to the house, we put them in the same room together and blocked all exits....I remember it so well:

Happy scowled for awhile in the corner as if he were annoyed and pouting. Gracie eventually left the human attention and went over to check him out. He sat next to the wall, staunch and not in the slightest intimidated by the pink collared push-over of a puppy ambling toward him. She trotted right up to him, sniffing the air as she approached. He rose to all fours, towering over her a good 3 inches, and flicking his tail slowly from side to side. Gracie moved toward his tail, and with one swift right paw--he swatted her little nose and she went rolling. And then she knew--it was his house :o) (Not that she would care in 2 and a half years when she was bigger than him)

Anyways. All that to say I am a pet lover, and have owned a cat and a dog, and a fair share of fish that I'd won at various county fairs from tossing ping pong balls into floating jars 8 feet away. I, however, am not a big fan of felines.

But today, while I was at work---on perhaps the coldest day of this winter (with freezing rain, a chilling wind, and a predicted 4-7" of snow/freezing precipitation in the next 48 hours) I found a box under the shelter of an eave. It was 3 P.M. and now I feel terrible that I didn't notice it when I'd arrived in the morning. Inside was a shivering orange cat, a can of food, and some newspaper....it was uncollared and skittish. I was mad. I'm still mad. Who does that?!?!? IT IS FREEZING OUTSIDE!!!! I called the police. An officer came to try and bring it to the station, they'd found a temporary holding location to take it to. Sadly, the cat was too frightened---I'm assuming by the thoughtless act of abandonment, the owner was perhaps abusive and inattentive to make the cat that fearful of human contact---and scampered beneath an ice cooler.

I'll be surprised if the cat is there in the morning...I hope it's left in search of food and a warmer place...like the Subway down the street...or a heating vent behind the Hair salon. Sad....my blankets don't feel as warm as they normally do.....