by Skyra

Created on: September 30, 2008

I grew up with animals. There was never a time in my life that I did not have at least three cats and two dogs. Sometimes, when the barn still stood on my neighbor's property, my mom would start working with another lady and they'd rescue the ferals, get them fixed, and find them homes. Whenever that happened, we'd end up with fifteen or twenty cats sometimes. Now, I have a cat I credit with saving my life. Here's Alley's story.

When I got engaged and moved away from home, I had no furry pets. We couldn't really afford them. I had a few tarantulas and they were very enjoyable but it just wasn't the same as a cuddly, furry cat or dog. My fiancee would remind me that we could barely afford to feed ourselves, let alone another mouth, and that we needed to focus on bettering our situation first with a baby on the way. He was right, and I hated it.

I really missed having a fuzzy little body in the bed, on my lap, having to remove one from the table or counter. To make the torture even worse, I worked in a veterinary clinic, as both an assistant in hospital and running the kennel. Every break I had was spent playing with lonely pets who were staying there for one reason or another. Then my friend found Alley.

One day my friend Carol went to a yardsale. She didn't find many bargains, but she did find a tiny, starving kitten. The woman holding the sale informed her that the kitten had been hanging around for days and that she refused to give it food or water so that it would leave. The little kitty - a beautiful calico - was so starved that her ribs showed, the bones in her face were clear, even the bones in her little feet and legs. There was a collar around her neck so tight she could only breathe shallowly and could not meow more than a mere squeak. When the pitiful creature came to her, the woman kicked her away. At first, she refused to allow Carol to take her home; eventually, Carol took her anyway.

Everyone fully expected her to pass away. She was simply too malnourished and there had to be permanent damage. Carol didn't listen and took her home. She got her fattened up a little bit but her husband did not want her there. Finally, he threatened to kill her. Carol was devastated. She dearly loves all animals and the fact she could no longer help this one broke her heart. She had named her Alley as in Alleycat, and she simply did not have time to nurse her to health as well as she would have liked.

She begged me to take Alley. And I had to refuse. We simply had nothing

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