Saving Sadie

Because of the unique terrain and building placement at the company where I had worked for 20 years, there became a relatively secluded haven for abandoned cats from the 6 lane well traveled highway out front. Over the years, many a kitty was able to find meals of subsistence from the 40 yard dumpsters behind the building. Most of the time, these cats were rarely seen, but when they were, they cautiously raced away from the human element that had initially abandoned them. There was one little grey stripped calico that did eventually curl her way around some of our legs and all of our hearts. When we went out back on our breaks, she became reluctantly trusting enough for us to toss her little bits of bread from some of our lunches. She visited us for a number of months, but Winter was fast approaching and it must be hard to be alone in the cold with no home or continual love.

One person on our night crew had the good intention to take her to the local shelter, but had to first capture her. He eventually did and placed the frightened little grey cat in a little brown cardboard box to take her to the shelter the following day. His plan was foiled because he had failed to credit the little grey cat with her ability to survive. Her teeth and claws enabled her to eventually create a space just large enough that allowed her to escape from the cardboard box.
Now, the frightened little grey cat had found her way above the drop ceiling, 18 or so feet above, and for the next week we kept tabs on her while trying to establish a game plan to help her. For that week she had little to no food or water. After about a week, we began hearing faint cries from her and it took us some time to establish exactly where they were emanating from. She had inadvertently fallen from the drop ceiling between the walls of some offices where escape for her became impossible.

Barry in our Maintenance Department was extremely vigilant to her overall welfare and he cut a hole in the drywall placing a metal cage that had a spring door, at the entrance of the hole. At this point, the little grey cat was starving, so he placed a can of tuna at the far end of the cage to entice her in. Much to our excitement, his plan succeeded. I felt relieved at her rescue, but sorrow for this little grey cat as I gazed upon her shriveled little bony body that was convulsing with fright. I could not possibly stand by and allow animal control to take her away. Because she was not well adjusted to people, I expected that they would not have the time to work with her and therefore expected that she would be euthanized. She had already been through so much trauma and still she survived. I had to do something.

I decided to take her home, where I introduced her to my 2 existing kitty companions, Marshmallo and Othello. I gave her my patience and love over the next year and worked extensively with her. After 1 year, she finally began to allow me to stroke her a few times before scurrying down the hallway. Each day, Sadie, gave me a little more of her trust and love. Now, after nearly two years, Sadie contently sleeps by my side most every night.

The truly wonderful thing about cats, lies in the fact that a person cannot force them to do anything. They choose to allow us to pet them or sleep with us. Trust is something that can never be taken for granted, it must be earned, even in the realm of animals. I truly feel blessed that I was able to bring Sadie out of her lonely abandoned shell and show her that there are people in this world that care about her. This is Kittys-Korner's first happy ending and I hope there to be many more.