A little cat with a big heart finds a home at Christmas.
My (Ellie's) youngest rescue kitty came to me with no name, just a number. She was one of 12 cats rescued from the streets just before Christmas. At eight months old, she arrived tiny and terrified of everyone and everything. She was just going to be a foster, so I named her "Hachi", Japanese for eight. It seemed appropriate.
For weeks she hid under the bed in my guest room, and nothing I did could lure her out. I found myself crouching by the bed, peering underneath and singing, "Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play?" Sadly, my singing voice leaves a lot to be desired so she stayed put.
"Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play?"
Slowly, very slowly, she began to creep out and look around the big, scary new house she found herself in. I was lucky to have my second rescue, a gregarious (and perpetually troublesome) snowshoe Siamese, named Pye. He took to the little kitten almost immediately, despite being many years older, and the morning I discovered them curled up together in a chair I realized the fostering phase of our relationship was over. She was going to be staying. And if she was staying she'd need a proper name – there was only one that made any sense – Prudence.
She doesn't always live up to that name, I'm not sure any cat could, but she's my darling little girl/evil genius. She's dismantled almost every cat fountain I've ever purchased with a single-mindedness that never fails to impress me. For reasons best known to her, she's also removed all the felt dots from the cabinet doors she can reach. She's systematic, smart and determined…and I absolutely adore her.
She's still shy, still runs and hides when people come to visit, still growls at strangers passing outside her window – but she's come a very long way in the past few years. With me, she's sweet and cuddly and has a rumbling motorboat purr you can hear from half a room away. I'm so lucky to have been able to foster for Helen's Haven, and even luckier to be able to adopt my dear Prudence.
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