Mr. Scruffs Goes Home

So, for readers of my 'Cat Reports', a few days ago came the great news that Scruffy (a.k.a. MR. SCRUFFS) has now finally been adopted. I forget his backstory -- whether his owner moved away and decided to leave him behind, like Kaboodles (who came in about the same time, and has still not been adopted), or whether his owner lost his home and cd no longer take care of him (which has been the case with several cats this past year), or if his owner simply decided he didn't want a cat anymore about eight years (which unfortunately happens more than you'd think) -- but he himself was a memorable cat: large and black and very much king of all he surveyed. His name was something of a misnomer, since he was in fact well-groomed, with long black hair that had brownish highlights.  The fact that he was the alpha cat yet never bullied the others defused what might otherwise have been battles for dominance: so long as he could hang out by the door, enjoying the breeze that sweeps under it, along with the occasional paper bag, he was content.

It took me a while to realize that he was different from all the other cats who came and went. They all knew, and acted, as if they were in temporary quarters, either making the best of it or (in some cases) very much on edge at the weirdness of living in a cage in a room with up to nine other cats. But Mr. Scruffs was different: watching him I realized this was his home. In his mind, he'd made the adjustment that here was where he lived. It wasn't the home he'd have preferred, but he accepted it and enjoyed what amenities he could.  I found the thought heartbreaking, but I was glad he wasn't turning his face to the wall, so to speak, withdrawing into himself after the days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months.

 He arrived at the Tukwila cat room back in December of last year and stayed until sometime around the beginning of August, when they decided to transfer him to a different spot (Issaquah) -- the idea being that, while they don't want to move them around once they get settled, there comes a point where pretty much everyone who frequents a particular store has gotten plenty of chances to adopt a particular cat if they were going to. And that then a fresh spot in another city gives them a chance to be seen by a new set of people, one of whom might be The One who'll take him home.

 Looks like that did the trick; we heard the good news on the thirteenth, so only about a month and a half after being moved to the new spot, he's finally back in a home of his own.  A happy ending, and testimony that Purrfect Pals' policy of patience really does pay off in the end.  Now if only Kaboodle and Perry ('Smith') and Phoenix could be so lucky.

--John R