If you’re like me, where you don’t own a cat but you’ve always wanted one, you need a cat fix every once in a while. (Sure I had twenty of my own growing up but now I have zero. ☹) You know, a friendly cat to pet and play with. To cuddle and meow and purr. If you’re lucky, maybe a kitten. A fuzzy little squeaker with wide eyes and wobbly legs, with the cutest nose, whiskers, and straight little tail.
I think about visiting animal shelters. Or maybe a cat café would do. Even stopping into PetSmart and saying hello to the cats sitting behind a panel of glass at least helps a little.
When I was staying in Darien, I didn’t have a cat fix… until I did!
I didn’t mention this place before because I thought it needed a post of its own. Fondly and vaguely known by me as: the cat place!
I heard about it from a few of my co-workers who found it. (I have no idea how.) A place with twenty-some cats roaming freely. Could this be real?! I had to go check it out.
It was six-thirty in the evening when I went to investigate with a few of the other crew members. Sure enough, the place was not lacking in cats!
Tucked away in the corner of an abandoned outlet mall, a group of cats were spread out, lounging across the pavement and perched on random objects outside an antique shop, the only store in the strip. Rumor was, the owner of the antique store took care of the cats. We spotted two cats inside the shop, peering out the window, so that’s probably true.
On our way there we’d stopped at the nearby Dollar General store to pick up some cat treats. I was actually worried that we wouldn’t see many cats, and hardly expected to use up all the cat treats as quickly as we did.
The whole experience was amazing! I was way too excited and took way too many pictures. All of the cats were slightly skittish and when we threw our treats/food onto the sidewalk like chicken feed, they only approached so close.
The longer we threw food, the more cats seemed to appear out of the woodwork, cautiously creeping out of the bushes to eat.
There was such a variety! Black and white cats materialized, an orange cat, an all-white cat, black cats, a cream-colored cat, gray cats, calico and tortoiseshell cats. Luckily, they all seemed healthy and none of them were scrawny to the bone.
My favorite one was a longhaired gray cat who had the most beautiful fluffy tail. She was the only cat who let me pet her as she ate, and seemed to be the friendliest. She was also very pregnant! I would assume that she’ll have her kittens in the nearby bushes. That seemed to be the hiding spot the cats would occasionally pop out of.
I really wanted one of her future fluffy kittens!
As we left, a few of the cats followed us to the car and sat nearby as we drove away. I could tell they liked us there but were still being cautious.
I visited a few more times, bringing treats. Sometimes they were hungry but other times they didn’t seem too interested, like they’d just eaten. On the drive out through the parking lot, I’d usually see a cat quickly walking toward the gathering, as if returning from being out hunting or prowling.
It was fun going to visit the cats. Making a special trip. Wondering how many cats would be there each time. It was only five minutes away and easy to pick up treats along the way too. I could sit with the cats and throw cat food at my feet, watching them jump down from their perches and congregate around me. I got my cat fix!
Cats and kittens should be acquired in pairs whenever possible as cat families interact best in pairs.
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