Photo by Diana Hanshaw
Hoss tells his story:
"For years, I lived all by myself on the grass island of a shopping center parking lot. A feral cat colony lived nearby, and sometimes the kittens would come over and play with me. I liked that because I was very lonely. And I never felt well. I have FIV, and I always felt like I had a cold. My eyes hurt because I also have herpes, and all of my teeth fell out. It was a hard life, but I was glad at least I was outside.
"Then one day, someone showed up in the parking lot with a lot of traps and took all the cats away. Someone told me they were going to be trapped, neutered and returned. I was so hungry, I went in one of the traps, too. But I didn't get returned with the others. Instead, I went to the Howard County Cat Club's group home. A lot of cats lived there, but they weren't the cats I knew, and there weren't any kittens to keep me company. I felt so alone. And I knew no one would ever adopt me because of the FIV, and I'm almost completely blind, and I don't have the most outgoing personality. I don't rub against legs and purr and kiss up to humans the way most cats do.
"I did get adopted though! The president of the Howard County Cat Club took me home with her. I'm very old and frail now. But I'm as happy as a cat who has never known real happiness can be. And my human and I love each other. She doesn't care that I don't rub against her legs and purr. We have a very special relationship and feel very connected on a psychic level. She likes that, and to be honest, I do too."
L
"For years, I lived all by myself on the grass island of a shopping center parking lot. A feral cat colony lived nearby, and sometimes the kittens would come over and play with me. I liked that because I was very lonely. And I never felt well. I have FIV, and I always felt like I had a cold. My eyes hurt because I also have herpes, and all of my teeth fell out. It was a hard life, but I was glad at least I was outside.
"Then one day, someone showed up in the parking lot with a lot of traps and took all the cats away. Someone told me they were going to be trapped, neutered and returned. I was so hungry, I went in one of the traps, too. But I didn't get returned with the others. Instead, I went to the Howard County Cat Club's group home. A lot of cats lived there, but they weren't the cats I knew, and there weren't any kittens to keep me company. I felt so alone. And I knew no one would ever adopt me because of the FIV, and I'm almost completely blind, and I don't have the most outgoing personality. I don't rub against legs and purr and kiss up to humans the way most cats do.
"I did get adopted though! The president of the Howard County Cat Club took me home with her. I'm very old and frail now. But I'm as happy as a cat who has never known real happiness can be. And my human and I love each other. She doesn't care that I don't rub against her legs and purr. We have a very special relationship and feel very connected on a psychic level. She likes that, and to be honest, I do too."
L
