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It was August of 1998 when Toby meandered into our lives. My husband and I were still living in Kansas City and I was working as a contractor at Sprint. It was in the Sprint parking lot that Toby and I first crossed paths. He was an obviously homeless cat who was trying to get someone to notice him and, hopefully, feed him. As I made my way across the parking lot, Toby walked in front of me and flicked his tail. Then he stood on his hind legs while he pawed at my thigh with his front paws. He let out several hearty meows and then started walking in circles at my feet. My heart melted over this sweet, friendly cat. My mother, who was also a Sprint employee at the same building, ended up rummaging through the refrigerator in the employee lounge for food that had been left behind and long forgotten about. The only thing available was a tub of strawberry cream cheese. I shrugged my shoulders and figured strawberry cream cheese was better than nothing. Toby must have thought the same thing, because he ate it. Toby became somewhat of an office mascot that day, because he stayed at the door and greeted anyone walking into or out of the building. He ended up getting fed from several of our lunches and everyone was talking about who was going to take the cat home.

One of the engineers I worked with said he had seen Toby hanging around the parking lot for several days, rummaging through the dumpster in search of food. That was when I knew I would end up taking Toby home with me. I just couldn't bear the thought of leaving that cat to fend for himself another day. While I made a trip to the store to get a litter box, cat food, and other supplies, my coworkers fashioned a cat carrier out of cardboard boxes.

Amazingly, Toby went into the box easily enough and he handled the car ride home quite well. One of the first things I did when I got Toby home was start a bath. Toby was absolutely filthy and I wasn't about to let him roam around the house in his condition. It took three baths to get him clean and I had to scrub the residue out of the tub when all was said and done. He sat there quietly while I bathed him and I couldn't help but wonder if he was actually grateful for getting cleaned up. Never have I known a cat to take a bath so peacefully. While I was bathing him I learned that all four of his paws had been de-clawed. How a cat with no claws was even able to survive on the streets was beyond me. It was because he had no claws that the pads on his paws had taken quite a beating. They were raw and sore, bleeding in a few places. It broke my heart to imagine what this sweet cat had gone through.

It didn't take Toby long to win my husband over and to make a place for himself in our family. He's been a member of our household for the past decade and I can't even imagine a time when Toby wasn't a part of our lives. He has been such a blessing and a soothing, healing addition to our household in the midst of infertility.

Today, Toby is a healthy and spoiled cat. He loves to snuggle, eat soft food, drink water out of the bathroom sink, and play with his favorite cat toys. He's a very moody cat, but he's sweet all the same. He doesn't take baths so peacefully anymore and he will gladly protest the injustice of bath time. He has scars on the pads of his paws, remnants and reminders of his life on the streets. When we come home after a long day, Toby is always waiting by the door to greet us.

In August, we celebrated the 10 year anniversary of the day I brought Toby home. We have no idea where Toby came from or how old he really is, but we hope that Toby will be with us for years to come.

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Pemberton.
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