LETTER FROM BEAR - A Recipent of the CumbreCats Elder Cat Programme
Good morning, everyone. My name is Bear, and I live on Cumbre del Sol, a lovely mountain community in the province of Alicante on the Costa Blanca.
My passport says my name is Osito, which I prefer because it sounds more regal, of course. However, Mom insists on calling me Bear or, even worse, Beary-Bear. But she loves me so much that I'm willing to live with the little names she comes up with. Don’t tell her, but I am very fond of her too for a number of reasons. If she knew, I would probably never hear the end of it.
My story began about eight years ago, more or less. The vet wasn’t quite sure. I don’t consider myself a real senior, although I am starting to feel the weather changes and the cold winters in Spain in my bones.
Now, if you are a house cat, this is less of a problem because you have your heated mansion, your lovely warm basket, or your human’s bed to keep you warm. The best-case scenario, of course, is keeping warm on Mom’s lap for as long as possible. Somehow, though, they always have to get up to pee or do some other unimportant thing. It’s such a pain, isn’t it?
If that sounds like I have it made, well, yes, I do live a gilded life now, but it wasn’t always so. How my life began is a closely guarded secret I will keep forever. Mom says that because I am such a model house cat now (ouch), I must have lived with someone on Cumbre at some point. I probably ended up on the street when they either didn’t have the time or money to care for me or had to move and couldn’t take me with them. Some people apparently think cats can take care of themselves after they are abandoned. It’s true that we are survivors of a different caliber, but really? That is a topic for another day.
In any case, I found my way into a little colony of about 15 fellow homeless and semi-feral brothers and sisters. Mostly due to my size, I worked my way into the system to become the Top Cat of my area. I mean, just look at me. But I digress.
My brothers, sisters, and I were all fed and taken care of by a wonderful human who drives up to our corner daily to bring us lovely kibble, water, and occasionally some wet food, which we are all crazy for. All the humans who feed us up here on Cumbre del Sol pay for our food out of their own pockets. And with a household of 15 or more, that adds up!
The CumbreCats Control Campaign humans hold a food drive a couple of times a year to support the feeders, and they also receive donations from other cat-loving humans to help us when we need to go to the vet. If they can catch us, of course! Hah!
Besides the humans who feed us, there is also a different type of human driving around with cages in the back of their cars, trying to lure us into a trap with that lovely wet food. Sometimes they even bring sardines or shrimp, which frankly is just not fair! Who can resist sardines???
I am ashamed to say I did fall for their scheming because those sardines were just too good to pass up. The trap door shut behind me, and they took me to the vet where (the horror!!) they took my manhood. They also snipped off a part of my ear to show the whole world the ordeal I had gone through. Trap-Neuter-Release. It’s a thing here, and many of my fellow colonists have fallen for the lure of the sardine.
Suffice it to say, it took me a while to recover mentally from being deformed like this, but Mom says my ear snip is my Badge of Honor. If it pleases her, then I guess I can make my peace with it. Because I love her. Don’t tell her that, okay?
After reestablishing my position in the colony (it’s not the same without your manhood, believe me!), life pretty much went on as normal for a number of years. The feeding human came every day, and the trapping human blissfully left me in peace.
But I had this nagging feeling there should be more to life than this, you know? The winters were cold up here, or at least they felt colder to me as I got older. The boho life sounds so romantic, but it’s not all it’s made out to be, especially when you are no spring kitten anymore.
Then, one day in mid-November 2022, as fate would have it, two friends of the feeding human showed up at dinner time to chat about how my brothers, sisters, and I were doing. When they walked off to their house, curiosity got the better of me, and I followed them.
What I saw there was better than my wildest dreams. There was a lovely warm house with so much wet food! All the kibbles! I couldn’t believe my eyes! Unfortunately, there were also four spoiled little brats in that house living in the lap of luxury with no idea of my ordeal living outside.
While the humans were talking and sipping cava, I snuck into the open door and had a taste of the lovely wet food that was just sitting there. I was in heaven. This was the life I had been dreaming of.
A plan took shape in my head. This house was warm and inviting, with all the food I could eat. After living for years in the valley, fending for myself at every turn, sleeping in the cold and rain, and with winter approaching quickly once again, I decided I had nothing to lose.
I had found my forever home. And my future mom lived there. She just didn’t know she was my future mom yet. But I would make her see I belonged with her!
From that day forward, I launched my charm offensive. I positioned myself at the terrace doors every single day until she came out and fed me. She kept telling me that I should stay outdoors, of course, but I knew she didn’t really mean that. She just couldn’t give in immediately. I get that.
My mind was firmly made up. She was The One. This was my future home. My new life would begin here. Those four little spoiled brats would just have to make way for me.
In the days that followed, we got some bad weather, and Mom got me a little house on the terrace to take shelter in. I grudgingly complied, but only because I knew I was inching closer to my ultimate goal. And I hate getting wet.
I was going to spend Christmas inside by the fire next to her. I knew it. And she knew it too.
From my refugee camp on the terrace, I had seen the four brats go in and out of the house through the cat flap, and one night I just couldn’t stand it any longer. I took my chances and went in. There was an empty bed below the dining room table, and I curled up nice and cozy, having a good long sleep, warm and safe and comfortable. It had been a long time since I had felt that comfy. Like, in forever.
Around 4 am, Mom woke up to go to the bathroom. She made a little round through the house as she always did, to see if everyone was okay. I was just hoping she wouldn’t see me, but of course, she did.
She looked down at me, snug as a bug in my comfy bed. I looked up at her and hoped she wouldn’t evict me. Instead, she gave me a little scratch behind the ears and wished me good night. That was the happiest moment of my life.
Ever since that night, I have been living my wonderful new comfy life with Mom and my stepbrother and sisters. I have made friends with most of them, and I behave perfectly because I know how very lucky I am. That little black witch Coco still doesn’t like me, even though I go out of my way to please her, but ugh. Girls. I just behave and let her hiss at me. Then Mom comes and comforts me and tells Coco to behave, and that makes me so happy.
I get to sleep next to Mommy every night. In the morning, she drinks her coffee with me in bed, and we snuggle before she has to start work. Sometimes I just have to let out a big, long sigh of relief because I am just so happy, safe, and content now.
A while back, I got myself into trouble and hurt my foot. Totally against my wishes, I was taken to the vet. Of course, I was not amused by that.
Mom would have been fine to pay the vet bill herself since I am part of the family, but her friend from the CumbreCats Control Campaign told her about a new plan they had just put in place. This plan promotes the adoption of older cats from Cumbre del Sol, covering our food and vet bills.
It’s a wonderful initiative, and we both hope it will make other humans consider adopting an older kitty from our mountain. For once, it’s not all about those annoying little kittens! They get enough press if you ask me!
I am very proud to be the first senior cat eligible for this support, and I hope my story will help you consider adopting older cats too. Living outside on this mountain means we most likely will not live as long as our fellow luxury house felines.
Not having to suffer all day and all night anymore, and having access to delicious food, a paid health care plan, and a warm bed to come home to, makes our life so much better. We are way more grateful than those little brats will ever be because they haven’t been through years of peril and suffering!
So, please consider one of my fellow senior cats if you want to adopt. We may not be waiting in a shelter, but many of us are actually former house cats who were abandoned. We cannot wait to have our own human again to give us a loving home.
The reward is so great, just ask Mom if you don’t believe me!
With love and gratitude,
Osito (aka Bear)
