Herman

I first saw Herman one fall night as he wrestled with Norman, my neighbor's grey cat. He didnt run away like most strays but he was still aloof and wouldnt eat the food that I put out for the other cats. Although skinny and dirty, he seemed like he was faring well as a homeless boy.

He came around every few weeks, sometimes I spotted him in the woods outside my apartment complex. He''d come when called, given enough patience, and one time actually darted inside the apartment and hid under the couch, mewing pitifully. We were afraid of potential problems for the ferrets and had to put him back out. Herman disappeared for many winter months.

One night, after celebrating Charles' new job, we pulled into the parking lot at home and Charles spotted him. I wanted to stop and say hi since it'd been so long since he'd been around, and when I saw how ragged and skinny he was, I offered him my leftover filet from the restaurant. Herman grabbed it, ran away and gulped it down. We could tell he was in extremely terrible shape, and so went home for a carrier to catch him.

Herms spent a couple of days at home with me before I could get him to a shelter that would give him a chance at finding a home. I gave them money for neutering and left. I tried to forget about him, but I couldnt. Within a couple of weeks I'd convinced myself that since problems should be solved by those who see them, I needed to go back to the shelter, and he was mine. He came home skinnier than ever.. the time at the shelter had not improved him at all.

A few months later, we discovered his problem. What we thought was asthma turned out to be a severe hernia from a traumatic injury he'd sustained sometime before we caught him, and he was dying. We crossed our fingers, hoped for the best, and sent him into very risky surgery.

Herman made it through, and is now a fat, furry, healthy polar bear of a cat who loves pouncing anything that moves, anything that doesn't move and anything that may or may not have ever considered moving. His favourite toy is a laser, and he loves to snuggle us into paralysis every night.