Roger Zee Memoirs
Adopting Zoe 2 10/14/20
Little could I imagine what I had gotten myself into by taking the plunge and adopting a cat sight unseen! The phone volunteer at Paws Crossed Animal Rescue in Elmsford, NY asks me my availability for picking up Zoe. I tell her anytime. Not much on my agenda in the middle of the NY pandemic lockdown! She says she will contact the foster parent and get back to me. Welcome to another excerpt in my memoirs, "Life and times of a Pandemic Musician."
Foster parent? That piques my interest. I pictured Zoe sharing a small cage with another sad cat in a huge room full of cages -- just like where I found my dear, departed Lembus. But that's not how it turns out. The shelter gets back to me that same morning and tells me to come by Paws Crossed at 12 noon that very same day to sign the papers, pay the fee, and collect Zoe. Wow! That's fast. I feel the adrenalin kick in as I go about preparing the apartment for the new arrival. Get out the litter box and find a bag of kitty litter. Didn't want to fill it up just yet and potentially jinx the deal, LOL! Pick out a suitable, old Bob Marley t-shirt, black and white bathing suit just in case Zoe might "accidentally" claw it while getting to know me. Don my pork pie hat and head out the door on that fateful Thursday July 16, 2020.
So I look up the directions on my "Maps" phone app, hop in the car, head up 287W to Elmsford exit 2, get off, and then naturally miss the turn to the shelter. Really! What did expect, LOL! Turn around and find the street, recollecting it contains a big stone and gravel pit. The road twists and turns with lots of trucks plying the route and attempting to park. Suddenly I see a white SUV enter so I pull over and tail it, believing that it just might head to the shelter and not the gravel business. Good guess! We finally end up between a playground to the left and Paws Crossed on the right.
I park near the playground, and walk up to the entrance of the closed hospital. See a pretty brunette casually dressed leaning against the white SUV and ask her, "Do you know how to get into the shelter? It looks closed and I'm here to pick up a cat." She says, "Hi, I'm Leigh. I'm the Zoe's foster parent and I've got her in the car. I also brought some of her favorite things as well as some food she likes." At that moment, a women walks out the shelter door and comes down to meet us. She introduces herself as Ariel, a volunteer at Paws and explains that due to Covid-19, no one except the few who work there can enter the building.
The two ladies provide me with some history on Zoe. Someone had found her living on the street after
giving birth to a litter. By her actions and demeanor, it appeared she had run away from an abusive home. The shelter had asked Leigh to foster Zoe at her home while the Paws Crossed provided for neutering her. Unfortunately, she became infected and had to go back for a full hysterectomy. At some point, Leigh takes Zoe in her Yurt out of the car and opens it up a little so I can meet her. Don't see much as she cowers in the back, probably snoozing.
Ariel hands me some forms to fill out and explains the rules and regulations. I must agree to never letting the cat outdoors and never getting her declawed. I'm fine with no declawing but not OK with not letting Zoe outside. I didn't plan to let her out anyway because animals can pick up a lot more disease and therefore required additional shots and visits to the vet. But I don't really want to sign off on that. But in the end, I decide not to argue and make it a deal breaker.
So I fill out the form and give Ariel my credit card to cover the $175 fee. She comes back about ten minutes later with another official from the shelter who asks me to refill out the form. Don't remember exactly why, but once again, I don't want to stir the pot and just go ahead with it. Finally, we complete the transaction. Leigh very generously gives me a bunch of stuff included the beautiful Yurt, Zoe's favorite catfood and some toys. I thank her profusely, exchange email addresses, and then I ask if I can follow her car out to the main highway since I tend to get lost easily. She graciously agrees and we part ways.
When I get home, I read the literature they gave me which basically says to confine the new pet to one room for the first week. I pick the living room/kitchen and put the litter box in there as well. I tryd to let Zoe out of the Yurt but she won't budge. Finally, I manager to put her out. She then disappears for the next three days...
So on this beautiful, chill Wednesday amidst the Covid-19, election and Supreme Court Apocalypse, I wake up in bed to Zoe clawing at my comforter and gently butting her head into my side. I thank God that she finally came around to accepting me. It proved a long, difficult, and very emotional process. I get up to feed her while she whines and meows incessantly. This chowhound can't even wait for me to put the bowl on the ground before she attacks it, LOL! I then pick up my Fender Precision bass, dream about the first 45 I ever bought, "What's New Pussycat" by Tom Jones and proceed to go over the bass lines to all the tunes on Disc 3 of "The British Beat: Best of the '60s." One <3
YouTube - What's New Pussycat - Tom Jones
©2020 Roger Zee