Now, I have always been more of a dog person so was not really in the market for a cat, but I can’t tell you how much joy Perseus ‘Percy’ has already brought to our family since he wandered into our garden – and hearts – a few months ago.
We’d had a BBQ for my sister’s birthday and it was piddling down outside, but rain has never come between the self-crowned Barbecue King and his sausages before! We stayed inside the house for the most part, but it was a lovely afternoon eating, drinking and raising a glass or two to my sister.
Later, when everyone had left and we were clearing the plates, we spotted this little fella jump up on to the table.
I am sure he was hoping to find a stray chicken souvlaki on the patio, but he arrived just minutes too late! As the rain had started to subside to more of a drizzle, we all went out to say hello.
He was a little timid, but seemed to like Zee and was soon curled up in his lap, enjoying the fuss.
We played with him in the garden for a while, but as it was getting late, we bid farewell to our new friend and went back inside. He made himself comfortable under a tree and we thought no more of it. The next morning he was gone but returned again a few hours later. This time, he seemed much more comfortable around us and purred away as we petted him. He didn’t come into the house, but for a few days, he slept outside in our garden. As the rain was showing no signs of easing up, we created a shelter for him under a bench and made up a bed using Zee’s old baby bath and a cushion.
This was the night that we started to worry he might be lost so, the Greek God(zilla) went out and knocked on doors of all the surrounding roads to ask whether anyone was missing a cat. We also put a post up on our local forum and a lost & found site. I called Celia Hammond Animal Trust for advice and they suggested I take him into their rescue centre to check whether he was microchipped. I borrowed a cat box from a friend and coaxed him inside it with a chunk of tuna. He was so nervous on the drive over that he crapped all over the box! Don’t worry, I’ll buy her a new one…
A vet at Celia Hammond checked him over and seemed to think he was approximately 8-12 months old and had not been neutered or microchipped. She also said she didn’t think he had been very well looked after, so I booked him in to be neutered, have all his vaccines, worming and flea treatments. She advised that as he was so young, we should keep him inside until he’d had all his jabs. So, I took him home with me and waited for someone to claim him.
The first time he was inside the house, he spent a lot of time hiding behind our sofa – particularly if the Greek God(zilla) was around – but he did seem to really take to Zee. They would snuggle up on the sofa, chase footballs together, and Percy would follow him from room to room. I warned Zee not to get too attached, but I knew he’d already fallen.
Meanwhile, we looked out for missing cat posters, knocked on more doors, checked missing pet registers, and put posts out on social media. One of our neighbours thought she had seen a few abandoned kittens hanging around the woods near our house, so it’s possible he may have separated from them. We went up there to try and locate the others but sadly couldn’t find them. 10-days later, I took him back in to see the vet at Celia Hammond and as no-one had stepped forward to claim him, I said we’d be very happy to adopt him.
He’s such a sweet little soul and very gentle. He found Zee on that first wet April day and has rarely left his side since. They are best buddies, so naturally we left it up to Zee to give him a name and as he was reading ‘Perseus “Percy” Jackson and the Olympians’ at the time, he said he wanted to name him after the lead character. Fortunately for Percy, Zee had finished reading Mr Stink a few weeks before.
Everyone keeps telling us how lucky Percy is to have, out of all the gardens, wandered into ours, but I really feel we are the lucky ones.
Welcome to the family, Percy!
