When it came time to find a friend/pet for my cat Tiggs way back in 2011, I visited Bideawee, from whence I had adopted him. I had some lovely interactions with the amusingly-named Purrsia, a pretty little shorthair with a snowshoe-esque spot on her nose. The staff - following the shelter's "full disclosure policy" - advised me that as a former feral, one couldn't pick Purrsia up or restrain her; I responded, "that's too advanced for me." And then I fell in love with my Munchie from another rescue - he, too, was a former feral, but I got to find that out on my own. No matter - he and Tiggs became fast friends and scrapping partners.
Three years later, I was a volunteer at Bideawee cleaning cat receiving. A small cat sat with its back to me in its litter pan. It's intake form said the cat was female, about 3 years old, and named "Purrsia." Of course, I asked her if she was the SAME Purrsia. She turned around, and there was the snowshoe mark. She wandered up to the front, stuck her paw on my finger, and purred. I was convinced she remembered me, and we began our human-feline love affair, as I dithered about adding a third cat to the mix.
About a year later, Purrsia was readopted, and saddened, I breathed a small sigh of relief (because I don't have room for 3 cats). And then, about a year after that, her second adopter returned her.
At this point, nearly 5 years after meeting my girl, I surrendered to the inevitable, and after a month more of "deciding," I brought Purrsia home to the boys. She almost immediately jumped on my bed, sat amid my pillows like a little princess, and gave me a look that rather clearly said, "You foolish human. How could it take you 5 years to figure out what I knew right away?"
Apparently, everyone except me knew this right away, including Purrsia's 2 "boyfriends," Tiggs and Munchie, because we had an absolutely seamless "merger."
Purrsia still isn't a kitty I look forward to corralling for a vet appointment, but she is the one who sleeps on a pillow right next to my head every night, and was always the first to greet me when I'd return from visiting my ailing, elderly mother.
Could this cat be smarter than I??
NEW YORK, NY
