Starting fresh in a new home is always thrilling, especially when you have the chance to make it truly your own. Ideally, the previous owners would have cleared out everything, leaving you with a blank space to personalize as you wish.
In July 2018, Miranda and her family experienced this excitement when they moved into their new house. However, their enthusiasm was quickly accompanied by an unexpected surprise: not only did they find an extra item left by the former owners, but there was also a mysterious note with some unusual instructions. The note addressed to Miranda and her family read:
“Welcome to our beloved home! We hope you enjoy it as much as we have! There’s one favor we ask of you, you do not have to do it, but we would appreciate it if you did.
“In the backyard there is an old orange kitty who lives there. He is feral and was born in our backyard 12 years ago. He has an injured paw and will not let you go near him. We feed him (every day) twice a day and we have for years now,” it continued.
Miranda shared with The Dodo, “We immediately looked out the back sliding glass door and he was looking at us through the door.”
The moment the family saw the cat, they were amazed that they had been entrusted with another feline friend.
“We started laughing because we currently have five cats, all but one have been rescued,” Miranda explained. “At our previous home, people used to leave their cats there, and we took them in.”
How did a woman in New Jersey accumulate 47 animals - which she then neglected horrendously - after she had already been found guilty of abuse against 99 animals in Pennsylvania? Sign the petition to ban her from ever owning or living with animals in the future!
Deciding to give the cat, whom she named Raz, a chance, Miranda used her experience with cats to try and build trust with him.
“He used to hide whenever we approached the door. Now we can sit outside with him,” she said. “He will come up and eat when the screen door is open, which he wouldn’t do before.”
Miranda hopes that one day Raz will feel comfortable enough to allow her to take him to the vet.
“If you have the means to take care of an animal in need, you should,” Miranda said. “There is nothing like earning their trust and helping them live out their time comfortably and feeling loved.” Raz is fortunate to have new people move in who are willing to care for him. He is now in safe hands with these dedicated cat lovers.