When the Covid19 lockdown was announced I quickly drove from CA to TX to stay with my son. He lived in an apartment. I walked the grounds daily as there was nothing else to do. Cats lived around the apartments; 9 of them I counted. Later I learned this was a cat colony. I would observe their interactions with each other. One small, frail female was always watched by what appeared to be the dominant male cat. She took a liking to me and clearly was quite friendly. Each time she saw me she would come running, meowing up a storm to get my attention. She began sleeping outside my son's apartment door. If I was outside reading a book, she would jump on my lap and sleep for hours. I noticed she was so skinny, and had sores and scars all over her little body. My son said she'd already had two litters, and he fed her when she came around. When I fed her, the male would be close by, allowing her to eat first, then he would eat. The small female would try and run into the apartment when I opened the door. One day, while sitting inside watching tv, I saw her climbing the window screen, as though to say, 'I know you're in there.' That was it for me. I decided she was going to be my cat. I knew nothing about cats or how to care for them. I always had dogs. (15 to be exact. My last dog passed over at the age of 16. I currently had no pet. In my mind I was envisioning my next dog, who I would name 'Sheva'.) Life had other plans for me. We made an appointment to get the small cat spayed and have her shots. The vet said she wasn't yet 24 months old. She had FIV and a horrible case of ringworm! (Fortunately for me I didn't get the ringworm). By now I was completely in love with 'Sheva' and vowed to give her the best care possible. The FIV didn't scare me. Traveling back to CA with her was a joy as she loved the car ride. Unfortunately, I lost her at our first rest stop, but stayed the night and found her the next morning. I quickly learned how to handle her when we stopped after that!! She now has her very own catio with a tunnel leading from the cat door. The dominant male now lives with my son and is moving with him to his new home. Sheva has grown into a large cat who is spoiled and loved to the max!

Regina Jones
CARLSBAD, CA