THE PERFECT CAT FOR ME

Tim Chandler held out for a cat who would "speak to me". 

He finally found Mr. Right!

by Tim Chandler

Selecting a pet is a very important decision. When I got a cat some years ago, I decided I wanted an orange tabby female kitten, and that's what I got. My mistake was that I chose her based solely on appearance. In hindsight, that's no way to pick a pet any more than it's a way to pick a life partner, business associate, or elected representative. Even the Miss America pageant tries to get at the "inner beauty" these days. So I decided that the next time I invited someone into my life and home, we would have to make a connection in a deep, more spiritual sense.

Recently, I decided it was time for me to get a new cat. The search began, and my friend Lynn decided to help me find my new cat. Every Saturday afternoon, we went out looking. We answered ads in the paper. We went out pet stores. We went to animal shelters. But I just didn't find any cats or kittens with whom I had a connection.

Lynn, of course, fell in love with every cat we saw. "What about this one?" she would ask me, and I would just sort of shake my head. "Well, then what about this one?" No. After going out five or six times, Lynn got frustrated and asked if I was really serious about getting a cat or what. "Yes, " I said, "but I want the cat to speak to me."

One snowy January afternoon, I decided to make a quick stop at the ASPCA to see if they had any new arrivals since I had been there last. A volunteer said, "Come with me, dear," in a grandmotherly way and took me to a room in the back known as the cat room. It looked like a miniature prison with cages lining the walls from floor to ceiling. Alcatraz for unwanted felines. As I looked around the room, I noticed all the cats were either sleeping or hissing. There didn't seem to be any middle ground.

Then I noticed the strangest thing. One cat had its from leg sticking straight out of the cage as far as it could go. Not only that, the extended paw was waving. Furiously. Then I noticed that the waving animal was in Cage #37. I told the woman, "Isn't that a coincidence? He lives in Cage #37, and I live in Apartment #37.

She took the cat out of its cage and handed him to me. The second he got into my arms, he quickly climbed up my chest and started nuzzling my neck and purring so intensely I thought he was going to choke. It was as if he were saying, as best he could, "I love you, I love you. Take me home."

And so it was. I took him right home and named him Zachary. When we got to my apartment, I carefully familiarized him with his new environment, showing him where the litter box was, where the food was, etc. All these things had been in readiness for weeks since I had been "expecting." I then sat quietly in a chair and began to read a book, thinking I would just let the little guy explore. However, the second I sat down, he jumped up in my lap and within about a minute was purring his head off.

I had made the right choice. This was the cat for me. He did, after all, speak to me.