Theo the Tippy Cat

A year ago today I brought home the little feral cat who had been rescued, in hopes that we might rescue each other. I met Theo, the tippy polydactyl, while I was hiding from Christmas by volunteering at a horse rescue, Little Brook Farm. in upstate New York. Volunteering on the farm among good people and horses in who needed us took my mind off of my first Christmas without Mia or my Mom.

But I hadn’t bolstered myself against wanting an animal as the risk of me bringing home a horse to my apartment, dreamer though I am, was nil. But Summer, who runs the farm with her mother Lynn, saves hundreds of animals; horses, cats, wildlife and all. And in the fall while my world had been rocked, she had been called out for a sick or possibly rabid cat, and found a starved orange cat tom weaving in circles who she easily netted. Knowing that the police would have had to put him down as rabid for his erratic behavior she wanted to give him some chance, and as there is no living test for rabies they fed him and he ate ravenously, something a rabid animal will not do, and gave him time and space. It became evident he was disabled and starved but healthy, but because he walked in circles and tipped over he could not be a barn cat, and stayed in a cage in the tack room. And there I met him at Christmas, just as I met Mia at Christmas so many years before, although I didn’t realize this at the time.

The little guy was talking away, desperate for company, but then skittish and still feral with company. I went in often and hung with him between mucking and photographing, and when I left for home he was on my mind. Orange cats in are generally social, they are the golden retrievers of the cat world, and he showed signs of craving attention, it seemed such a shame that a cat with so much potential wasn’t with a family. But I was moving January 1 and couldn’t take in a cat, so I showed family and friends his photo and tried to sell him off over the holidays.

By February he had no prospects of being adopted and every snowstorm that passed I thought of him in that cage. And I missed having a pet enormously. Knowing my heart was not yet ready for a pup, I decided I would be Theo’s imperfect home if he would be my imperfect pet. Neither of us was ideal per se, me being transient and sad, him being feral and disabled, but we fit each others needs well enough. He needed time and space to learn how to be a pet and I needed a bit of company. And I reasoned a cat is like an animated houseplant, no big deal, I know, what was I thinking.

On a crisp Valentine’s Day I showed up at the farm with a too small cat crate, nervous and thrilled to take Mr Meow home, as he was fondly called by volunteers. Because of his health issues and general wildness, he started out in one room. He was the cat under the bed and would let me touch him but refused to come out when I was around. As he became more bold I moved his food and water a bit away from the bed, and in time he came out when I was there. Eventually his space expanded to a floor and although he would spin if startled, and often memorably run into walls like a tiny toon character, I sat on the floor and let him lead and gain confidence. The major downside this very long learning curve about being a pet was he both craved pets and contact, but would also panic ending in scratches and bites. It was nothing major, sort of death by a thousand cuts, he was treating me as he would another cat I imagine, but being a dog person I found it shocking at times. For the first few months I would be out in the world talking with my hands as I do and realize people were staring at the scratches. I would explain about Theo, that he was feral and was coming along, and really was a nice cat. I sounded a bit like a crazy person.

While I’m not sure a cat is trainable Theo craves company and contact as much as any dog, so scratches or bites ended all company, and he learned in time that this behavior was not okay. These days he will occasionally air swipe or mock grab at me but he looks more startled than I am if he makes contact. I’m sure if he could talk he would say his training of me has gone well or he has done his best also. Cats are mysterious beasts, and while I am still very much in training at being his human he has become wonderful company.

He’s far more demanding than Mia ever was, so houseplant theory was way off, when he is not getting enough pets he will tell me. But he greets me at the door when I come home just as she did, you can hear the thump as he loudly jumps off whatever he was sleeping on and he dashes to the door twirling and flopping for pets. We immediately found this house is his native habitat as he catmaflages into the blond wood floors perfectly, stripes and all. He will lie under my feel on conference calls meowing for pets and in boredom, if he could talk I am fairly sure his dislike for the glowy boxes that hold my attention too long would be top of list. If I sit at my computer too long a feel a gentle poke and whatever I am doing or eating he wants to sniff or see. His fondness for snuggles right up against my face purring and drooling (and prodding persistently for pets) between the hours of 1 and 6am is horrifying to me, but I allowed it while socialization was the goal, now we’re dialing that one back for my sanity.

Theo’s tippiness is mostly gone in day to day life as long as he’s not startled, but he does have a permanent but painless neurological condition it seems which makes him lose orientation at times. While I know he would be safest as an indoor cat once he was healthy and habituated, it became clear he remembered what it was like to be free. He spent hours pacing and circling non-stop in front of doors like a caged animal so he has limited outdoor time now. But with his preference is company so most mornings I take my coffee out in the yard while he practices climbing trees, it’s been nice to have that ritual which I miss so much from Mia.

Feral cats are generally considered unadoptable and animals with a disability the same. We are so lucky that people like Lynn, Summer and so many rescuers don’t judge animals but see value in all. I think most things in life worth having at all take a bit of work, and Theo is no different. Even in his crate at the farm, I could see that he had potential. We’ve had our ups and downs, but he has blossomed into a wonderful little personality who, just like my lovely girl Mia, cannot start the day without a serious round of loving pets. This Christmas watching him utterly fall in love with our first Christmas tree was so special. He slept by it every night, and yes played with a few ornaments, but mostly he just seemed enchanted by the lights his neck craned back as he watched them. Or more likely trying to understand cat brain, he appreciate that I finally got him brought him the really over the top garnish for his new water bowl which he deserved.