CyberneticSanit
Lairian
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2021
- Messages
- 3
- Points
- 4
(Sorry if this is long winded and wordy, I just enjoy writing and explaining every detail haha)
Every time I recall how I found Pielopi, I'm overwhelmed by just how lucky I was. It's not every day you find a sphynx walking around in the street in the middle of an over 40°C heatwave.
I first found her on my way home from the cat sanctuary I volunteer at, standing in the lane in the shade of a parked car. It wasn't that hot yet, but you definitely could feel the summer heat on your back. She walked up to me when I squatted down and held my hand out, she felt funny as I'd never touched or even seen a sphynx in person before, but she felt very warm.
I let her sniff me for a little bit and got to pet her back for a minute before she walked away. I ran inside to grab a bowl and water and came back out but she was gone. I searched up the lane just in case but no dice.
I didn't see her again for a long while. I assumed she had just gone back to her owner or whatever and moved on. I began researching the breed out of curiosity, and as I did so I found it odd someone would leave their sphynx as an outdoor cat, especially with how prone they are to sunburns. I would look out in the lane every night but never saw her. I hoped she was staying inside.
Fast forward to two weeks later, the heatwave comes. It reached about 43°C that day, and it was finally the evening when the air felt like heaven compared to earlier. Then someone knocks on our door. A man had come asking if we owned a hairless cat. Immediately I realized he meant the stray I saw a couple weeks ago. I mentioned this and he said he found her outside in the heat earlier today and had her inside his home at the moment to look for the owner. When told I wasn't it, he continued on his way, going to the next neighbour.
I didn't see or hear about this sphynx for another couple days, assuming he found her owner, but then as I'm in my room drawing, I hear loud meowing. I look out the window and see she's meowing in the next door's yard. I run out without my shoes to try and see her, worried about the blazing heat still going on, but when I get out, she's gone. I run up and down the lane, not caring for the burning concrete on my soles, searching for her, but she's nowhere. I move down to run along the street but still don't see her. I knocked on the neighbour's yard and asked if she went inside, but was told no. I was informed however that the cat had been slipping into her kitchen and stealing the family's food off the counters. Interesting to know.
I walk back home slowly, then decide to look at the lane one more time. And then I see her, walking half a block away. I quickly rush to her but slow so I don't scare her, and she comes over to me upon seeing me. Maybe she remembered my scent. I was able to pick her up, after a bit of squirming, and brought her into the house.
I kept her in the spare room for the time as I explained the situation to my dad. I didn't want her escaping out or my dog getting at her if they didn't get along. I got a box of sand to use as litter for the night and she adapted to it fine, and gave her a piece of ham since we didn't have cat food. I slept in the spare room to watch over her.
The next day I brought her to the vet to get her checked out, after another piece of ham. This was where things got interesting.
She had no tattoo and no chip. Her side had an open gash on it and her eyes were infected. Her paw pads were torn open and her pads and nails caked in this black sludge substance. The vet said she may have been abandoned.
You would expect a cat that costs thousands of dollars would be well looked after and not thrown in the streets. I was really surprised but more so worried about her health at this time.
I also checked if she was pregnant, because she had that pouch on her belly, but thankfully, as the doctor put it, "no babies, just poop."
After bringing her home, I picked up some cat food and cat toys to suffice for now. I still had to search for an owner, and figure out why she was out after the last person found her.
I called the local shelters and asked what lost cats had been reported, but none matched her description, as all of them had, well, fur. I logged my report but after a month I still heard nothing back.
I checked on my way home from work for any lost cat posters along the way, and took different routes to check any other streets, but found nothing.
I began knocking around the homes of the neighbour's as the man before had done, but all said they didn't own her but only seen her around. I ended up coming across the man's house and he told me she ran out the door outside shortly after he was caring for her.
After all these efforts, it seems she really was abandoned. It's sad thinking about it, but she's now in my home, and I need to figure out what to do next.
Even though she wasn't mine officially yet, I felt bad calling her "the cat" all the time. I came up with the name Pielopi after a character based off of a cat from a game I was enjoying, but also because it was unique like her.
I was very worried about my dog, Basil, because he is a bird dog breed. Although he's super lazy at home, he would bark and chase raccoons and squirrels outside. I decided it was best to slowly introduce them to each other and see how they react.
I let my dog sniff through the door and smell her while she did the same. Then the next day I let him see her in my arms and see how he'd do. I was worried about him freezing up and staring, but he looked for a bit, then walked away.
I continued this slow introduction until I felt comfortable enough to let her check out the rest of the house on her own. She would freeze up a bit when Basil walks near, mostly because he's thrice the size she is, but he just saunters past as his old dog bones take him to look for scraps.
(Today she is very relaxed around him and enjoys his company)
Once I knew she and my dog got along, I felt more comfortable with the idea of keeping her. It took a bit of convincing from my dad to want to have a cat in the house, but eventually he agreed. (I can tell he likes her.)
And so, I got her the rest of your usual cat essentials, and a tag for her collar. Until I can get her chipped, I keep it on in case she ever learns how to use the dog door.
I still supervise her when she's out and about in fear she may get outside, but she's been adjusting very well. I'm still dealing with her watery eyes but it's a slow process. The cut on her side has healed over fine, just another white scar to match the others around her body.
She loves snuggling up to me under the blanket as I go to sleep. Since I struggle with depression, she has become a huge comfort for me in hard nights. She loves to play wrestle and have me chase her up and down the stairs.
I love her so darn much, and I'm so blessed she wandered into my life. It's insane how lucky I am to have her, like I won the lottery but the prize is better than any amount of money. Hopefully this tale of how she came around enlightened you, I'm very happy to share this baby off to you all. I look forward to many more posts of this sweetie.
Have a good day❤
Every time I recall how I found Pielopi, I'm overwhelmed by just how lucky I was. It's not every day you find a sphynx walking around in the street in the middle of an over 40°C heatwave.
I first found her on my way home from the cat sanctuary I volunteer at, standing in the lane in the shade of a parked car. It wasn't that hot yet, but you definitely could feel the summer heat on your back. She walked up to me when I squatted down and held my hand out, she felt funny as I'd never touched or even seen a sphynx in person before, but she felt very warm.
I let her sniff me for a little bit and got to pet her back for a minute before she walked away. I ran inside to grab a bowl and water and came back out but she was gone. I searched up the lane just in case but no dice.
I didn't see her again for a long while. I assumed she had just gone back to her owner or whatever and moved on. I began researching the breed out of curiosity, and as I did so I found it odd someone would leave their sphynx as an outdoor cat, especially with how prone they are to sunburns. I would look out in the lane every night but never saw her. I hoped she was staying inside.
Fast forward to two weeks later, the heatwave comes. It reached about 43°C that day, and it was finally the evening when the air felt like heaven compared to earlier. Then someone knocks on our door. A man had come asking if we owned a hairless cat. Immediately I realized he meant the stray I saw a couple weeks ago. I mentioned this and he said he found her outside in the heat earlier today and had her inside his home at the moment to look for the owner. When told I wasn't it, he continued on his way, going to the next neighbour.
I didn't see or hear about this sphynx for another couple days, assuming he found her owner, but then as I'm in my room drawing, I hear loud meowing. I look out the window and see she's meowing in the next door's yard. I run out without my shoes to try and see her, worried about the blazing heat still going on, but when I get out, she's gone. I run up and down the lane, not caring for the burning concrete on my soles, searching for her, but she's nowhere. I move down to run along the street but still don't see her. I knocked on the neighbour's yard and asked if she went inside, but was told no. I was informed however that the cat had been slipping into her kitchen and stealing the family's food off the counters. Interesting to know.
I walk back home slowly, then decide to look at the lane one more time. And then I see her, walking half a block away. I quickly rush to her but slow so I don't scare her, and she comes over to me upon seeing me. Maybe she remembered my scent. I was able to pick her up, after a bit of squirming, and brought her into the house.
I kept her in the spare room for the time as I explained the situation to my dad. I didn't want her escaping out or my dog getting at her if they didn't get along. I got a box of sand to use as litter for the night and she adapted to it fine, and gave her a piece of ham since we didn't have cat food. I slept in the spare room to watch over her.
The next day I brought her to the vet to get her checked out, after another piece of ham. This was where things got interesting.
She had no tattoo and no chip. Her side had an open gash on it and her eyes were infected. Her paw pads were torn open and her pads and nails caked in this black sludge substance. The vet said she may have been abandoned.
You would expect a cat that costs thousands of dollars would be well looked after and not thrown in the streets. I was really surprised but more so worried about her health at this time.
I also checked if she was pregnant, because she had that pouch on her belly, but thankfully, as the doctor put it, "no babies, just poop."
After bringing her home, I picked up some cat food and cat toys to suffice for now. I still had to search for an owner, and figure out why she was out after the last person found her.
I called the local shelters and asked what lost cats had been reported, but none matched her description, as all of them had, well, fur. I logged my report but after a month I still heard nothing back.
I checked on my way home from work for any lost cat posters along the way, and took different routes to check any other streets, but found nothing.
I began knocking around the homes of the neighbour's as the man before had done, but all said they didn't own her but only seen her around. I ended up coming across the man's house and he told me she ran out the door outside shortly after he was caring for her.
After all these efforts, it seems she really was abandoned. It's sad thinking about it, but she's now in my home, and I need to figure out what to do next.
Even though she wasn't mine officially yet, I felt bad calling her "the cat" all the time. I came up with the name Pielopi after a character based off of a cat from a game I was enjoying, but also because it was unique like her.
I was very worried about my dog, Basil, because he is a bird dog breed. Although he's super lazy at home, he would bark and chase raccoons and squirrels outside. I decided it was best to slowly introduce them to each other and see how they react.
I let my dog sniff through the door and smell her while she did the same. Then the next day I let him see her in my arms and see how he'd do. I was worried about him freezing up and staring, but he looked for a bit, then walked away.
I continued this slow introduction until I felt comfortable enough to let her check out the rest of the house on her own. She would freeze up a bit when Basil walks near, mostly because he's thrice the size she is, but he just saunters past as his old dog bones take him to look for scraps.
(Today she is very relaxed around him and enjoys his company)
Once I knew she and my dog got along, I felt more comfortable with the idea of keeping her. It took a bit of convincing from my dad to want to have a cat in the house, but eventually he agreed. (I can tell he likes her.)
And so, I got her the rest of your usual cat essentials, and a tag for her collar. Until I can get her chipped, I keep it on in case she ever learns how to use the dog door.
I still supervise her when she's out and about in fear she may get outside, but she's been adjusting very well. I'm still dealing with her watery eyes but it's a slow process. The cut on her side has healed over fine, just another white scar to match the others around her body.
She loves snuggling up to me under the blanket as I go to sleep. Since I struggle with depression, she has become a huge comfort for me in hard nights. She loves to play wrestle and have me chase her up and down the stairs.
I love her so darn much, and I'm so blessed she wandered into my life. It's insane how lucky I am to have her, like I won the lottery but the prize is better than any amount of money. Hopefully this tale of how she came around enlightened you, I'm very happy to share this baby off to you all. I look forward to many more posts of this sweetie.
Have a good day❤
and thanks for the great intro.
