In the spectrum of where a cat could live out its life, our two cats, Nigel and Blossom, certainly won the lottery. At the first twinges of hunger, they can saunter over to their food dish. There is always food in it and it’s the expensive stuff – not the bargain brand kibble. They can munch away until they have had their fill and then without them lifting so much as a claw, their empty dish is refilled again and again.

The most difficult decision our cats have to make on any given day is deciding which comforter on which bed that they want to curl up on. Then in the evening, Nigel comes downstairs and situates himself in his box in front of the fireplace where he gets so comfortable that he actually starts snoring. As Steve and I frequently comment, these are a spoiled couple of felines; their pampered pink pussy paws never encounter anything rougher than carpet and tile.

Nigel baking in front of the fireplace

But of course, not all cats are a lucky as ours. There’s a little gray cat hunched on our fence reminding us of this every time we come in and out of the house.  This dust bunny of a kitty started coming around our place at about Christmas time. We know the outdoor cat community at our condo complex and we had never seen this cat before the holidays. One of our neighbors thought that someone had moved and left the cat behind. Given that our pets are almost as beloved as our kids, it’s hard for us to imagine someone abandoning a cat.

Griselda casting a spell on us to let her inside

Steve named her Griselda. “Gris” is the word for gray in French and with her glowing yellow eyes and long fur, she – we’re quite sure she’s a girl because of her small size – she seems well suited to being named after a fairy tale witch.

It’s obvious that she is very accustomed to being around people because as soon as we open the door, she starts meowing for attention. Lucky for her, Steve is totally a soft touch when it comes to animals. He makes sure there is food and water in dishes just outside our front door and takes breaks during the day to step outside and pet her which makes her start kneading and drooling like mad.

Griselda would love to come inside but we’re quite sure Nigel who is a big bully tomcat would terrorize her. On the other paw, Griselda has street smarts and she may very well be able to hold her own against his posturing.

However, there’s another reason we won’t be letting her in anytime soon. It would put the census of cats in our household larger than the number of people. And as our daughter tells us, we would be entering crazy cat people territory.