Moving into a new house is a great opportunity to start anew. With empty rooms to set up furniture and new walls to paint any color we want, we receive an empty canvas to put our own stamp on. The house is usually cleared out by the previous owner, leaving nothing unexpected behind. When a family moved into their new place, it looked empty, but it was far from it. When Miranda and her family settled in, they quickly discovered an unexpected surprise left by the previous residents—a note with peculiar instructions. The message 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.
As Miranda peered through the back sliding glass door, she saw the cat gazing back at them. “He was looking at us through the door,” she shared with The Dodo. The family couldn’t believe they had been entrusted with another feline, especially given their current situation.
“We started laughing because we currently have five cats, all but one have been rescued,” Miranda said. “The house we lived in previously, people used to drop off their cats there and we took them in.” Naming the cat Raz, Miranda set out to win his trust, drawing on her extensive experience with cats.
“He used to hide anytime we came to the door. Now we can sit outside with him,” she noted. “He will come up and eat now when the screen door is open, which he wouldn’t do before.” Miranda’s hope is that one day, Raz will trust her enough for her to take him to the vet for proper care.
Sadly, this seems to have been a disturbing pattern that must be addressed. To protect future animals and provide him with the support he needs, he must be banned from ever owning animals again and undergo mandatory counseling.
“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.”
