Right on schedule , a cat showed up on our front steps. My sister and I were sunning ourselves on the steps and trying to decide what to do next during a rather boring summer vacation. The huge tabby-colored tomcat came and brushed his long fur against our legs. He never asked for any food, mind you, but just seemed to want to be patted. We learned later the cat was a Maine coon, so named because of its size and because some people in Maine evidently thought the large breed looked like a raccoon.
"This is a sweet kitty," my sister Denise crooned, scratchung the cat's ears. Hardly akitty at that size, I thought, but the cat jast bellied up for more sunning and scratching as if he belonged with us
"we aren't keeping that cat. Said mom. It's a stray; we don,t know anything about it, and it's too big"
The cat didn't seem io mind. He just sauntered away like he owned the whole neighborhood.
We saw the cat only occasionally during the hot day of august and the milder days of september, but when the rain showers of october came, the cat renewe its efforts to be adopted. Try to enjoy a fall eveening with a cat the size of small reccon howling on top of still,our parents wouldn't let us bring the cat inside,which reduced Denise to tears.
"the cat is wet and cold," Denise cried. "He needs us!"
It was a rainy october. By this time the cat had spent several wet, cold nights outside. Finally our parents relentd.
Dad said, "Okay, bring the cat onto the porch for the night. But don't let it into the house."
From the way my sister carried on, I think my parant realized it was a fight they would not win. Denise was all smiles as she dried the cat with a towal, fed him, and then made him a bed from old towels. She would have slept out there with the cat ifmy parents declared.
So, the next morning we packed the cat into the car for a trip to the veterinarian. "if we're going to have a cat, We'd better make sure it's a healthy one," our parents declared.
The veterinarian pronounced the cat healthy but was surrprised by the cat's size. "He must weigh more than twenty pounds," she said. "i dan't know that he needs that much food. Try feeding him twice a day, and see how much he eats."