There is this cat called Sally

There is this cat. Her name is Sally. Black and white and cute as ever. Petite but makes her presence known. She’s our neighbour’s cat but wants to be our cat. She was the queen of their castle until they decided to adopt two other cats much to Sally’s chagrin so Sally has moved out and is trying to move in with us.

She appears at our doorstep. Quietly and determined. And whenever the door is slightly cracked open, she finds her way in. Often curling up and sleeping on someone’s bed in our home or stretching out on the bench in the entrance. Sneaking in when we least expect. An opportunist at its best.

She makes no real demands except to be a part of our home and no matter how much we try to turn her away, she keeps coming back. Purring at us. Looking up at us with her beautiful dark cat eyes. Bringing us gifts and depositing them at the front door – lizards, rats, birds – whatever she can hunt to let us know she loves us and wants to be a part of us. That she is worthy of being in our home.

Our hearts melt each time and we get closer and closer to letting her in to our family but there are two major problems with us having a cat – my husband and son are extremely allergic to cats. A major deterrent to letting her in but Sally doesn’t understand what allergies are and frankly as a cat, she does not care.

All she wants is a warm body to rub up against and a place to call home so even when we resist her and refuse to feed her because then she will never leave, she insists on showing up. Insists on pushing her way into our lives. As I am typing this she is rubbing herself around my legs. Forcing me to acknowledge her presence. Playing with my weak human emotions. Cracking my hard shell.

Why is she even in the house at 6.17 in the morning you may wonder? Because my husband just left for a trip and rescued a bird from Sally’s clutches. She was torturing the bird. Batting it. Playing with it and about to kill it and leave it as our gift. So my husband let her in  to the house so the bird could escape. Then left.

And hence my blog is about this cat called Sally who is not even ours but is insisting she becomes a part of our family. She even plays nice with Mysty. Lets her smell her and follow her until she gets tired of the silly little rabbit and then runs off. But honestly speaking I think Sally only tolerates Mysty to impress us. She probably would rather eat her then befriend her but Mysty is larger than her and is our pet so she has to play nice with her to get to us.

And as if she knows I am writing about her, she has hopped up on my desk and is rubbing her face against my hand. Nudging me. Letting me know she wants to be here in our home. Purring deeply as if she is so content. Drool dripping on my computer because she is so content. As if she knows she is the star of my blog. Manipulative. Pervasive and Innocence all combined. How can we resist?

So tell me what are we meant to do with this little black and white cat who wants to be our pet? Who is insisting on being our pet? Who makes us laugh but at the same time causes my son and husband’s eyes to itch? 

Resist I tell myself. Don't give in. So I’ve just put her back out. Hopefully the bird has escaped and hopefully we can too. But somehow I don’t think we will as she is determined to make our home hers too. And she is carving out a place in my heart. Our hearts... oh well...