The Extraordinary Luck of Percy the Cat

He was just a neighborhood cat with no collar, and we’ll probably never know where he came from–the orange tabby with the stubbed tail. Definitely not a house cat, he roamed the streets, stopping in various driveways for a snooze when he needed one. There were plenty of mice and other critters dwelling among the wooded areas to keep him well fed, and water wasn’t a problem, because there’s a rather large lake nearby.

I don’t know how long he spent his days cruising the area before my elderly neighbor Betty began making sure the cat had something substantial to eat and drink. She’s a cat and dog person with a big heart, so her caring enough to put food bowls on her front porch for the wandering cat didn’t surprise me.

Nor did it surprise me when the cat kept coming back to Betty’s porch, looking for food he didn’t have to work hard for. Eventually, she named him Percy, and after a while, he was comfortable enough to enter her home at night and let her stroke him while he slept in her lap.

Not being the stay-at-home type, Percy leaves Betty’s home every morning to do whatever it is he does during the day, and he usually returns to the porch in the evening, waiting for her to open the door and provide the comfort he’s now used to. From time to time, though, he apparently finds something to keep his interest overnight or for a couple of days.

In the summer, I can see him from my upstairs window, lying in the sun in Betty’s driveway. Betty thinks he’s probably 15 or 16 years old. When Betty takes a weekend trip, I get to take care of her animals (she has a dog, too.) Though he used to scoot away whenever I approached him, Percy now lets me pet him when I pass by. I love that. And I love that my neighbor Betty gave Percy a family to love that loves him back.

Percy is lucky to have Betty, and I’m lucky to have Betty as my neighbor.