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| Name: |
Alis
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Age: |
Eleven years old
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| Gender: |
Female
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Kind: |
Cat
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| Home: |
Tel Aviv, Israel
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Alis, back then a nameless stray cat of unknown gender, appeared one day and started hanging around my neighborhood in Tel Aviv, Israel. Since there were quite a few people there who've been feeding and taking care of stray cats (including yours truly), Alis probably figured she might as well stick around.
Since one of my other cats had died a short while before that, I thought I'd try and adopt her, and pretty soon Alis spent most of her time indoors, at my place. As soon as I figured we were both in agreement that she was staying, I decided to take her to the vet and have her checked up, to make sure she's healthy and well, both for her own sake and that of my other domestic cat. Except Alis decided it wasn't going to happen. I managed to get her in what I thought was a secure carrying cage, but as I soon as I got to the entrance of the clinic (a 15-minutes walk), Alis managed to break out of the cage and disappear.
I spent a few hours searching, with the help of the vet and her assistant. We almost caught Alis, but eventually she got away. I was shocked and disappointed, as I thought I'd never see her again. The vet tried to comfort me and reassure me that she has great chances of survival in that area and suggested I'd adopt another cat instead, but I was too sad to really consider any other cats at the time.
I spent the next couple of days not deciding anything, when one morning I heard a cat meowing outside my apartment. I opened the porch door, and was shocked to see Alis come in running, going straight for some food and water. Somehow, she managed to find her way home.
I obviously called the vet's clinic. Since the vet was busy and couldn't come to the phone, I told the assistant the happy news and asked her to let the vet know as well. By that time I figured something wasn't completely normal with Alis, but I wasn't sure what. Back then I didn't even know that she was female. A couple of weeks later, I took her to the vet again, this time with a newly bought cage, which Alis couldn't break out of. Then I got another surprise - Alis was a pregnant female cat. My initial though was, "Darn, how could I have been so clueless!?"
The vet suggested I either spay Alis right away and adopt her (which meant stopping the pregnancy), or wait for her to give birth outside, as a stray, and then adopt either her or one of the kittens (as I was living in a small apartment and couldn't have too many cats). That option had so many risks, both for her health and safety, so after giving it some thought, I chose the first option, and Alis remained at the clinic to have the operation the same evening.
Ever since that day, a little over ten years ago, Alis has been living with me and Clueless (my only other cat at the time), and since I managed to move to a bigger apartment a few years back, three more cats joined the family. But she will always have a special place in my heart.
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