Mystery of the green-eyed stranger

Sitting in the warmth of the sun on my back steps, I was surprised by a cold nose on my hand. My attention was immediately focused on a beautiful, sleek, chestnut brown cat. He meowed, stretched and reached his paw up playfully to bat my hand. I was enchanted by his boldness, but I also wanted to hold him. Not a problem, as he made himself very comfortable on my lap. He had a collar but no name tag, so I called him Green Eyes. He stayed awhile but left abruptly when I stood up.

My visitor came and went over the course of a few months. I would hear “meow,” and who should be there but Green Eyes. Curiosity got the best of me, and I vowed to follow him to see where he lived. I didn’t get too far before my answer came in the form of a tall gentleman who scooped Green Eyes up and proceeded to scold him for wandering. We both got a laugh when I told him about Green Eyes and his visiting. Apparently, I was only one of the many people Green Eyes had visited.

Recently on the Science Friday SciFri Club, listeners were challenged to observe something and report on it. To my surprise one of the topics was about a cat who had similar habits as Green Eyes.

The cat’s owner decided to find out where her cat wandered. To do this she put a GPS device on his collar and tracked his movements. She copied the information from 22 different excursions to plastic overlays, and like magic her cat’s route appeared. The map showed her where her cat went, so she went door to door until she found her cat’s other home. The story was fascinating, and she wrote a book about her experiment entitled “Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology” by Caroline Paul. The story has a happy ending, and I suspect that the cat was one spoiled kitty.

In other “news,” you may recall that I mentioned The Cat Town Cafe in Oakland in an earlier article (Nov. 7). As luck would have it, I recently got a chance to stop. It opened in October, and 32 cats were adopted in the first 15 days. The Cafe has many goodies and great coffee. The Cat Zone was decorated with structures built to resemble landmark buildings in Oakland, and the cats had the run of the zone. All of the patrons were enjoying either playing with or watching the cats. As I was leaving, one patron had adopted a cat, so the adoption count rose to 36. It was a purrfect day.

CAPS News and Events:

CAPS now has puppies who are looking for the forever homes of their dreams. They are absolutely adorable.

Flower Tree Nursery is raffling a 20-gallon Colorado blue spruce for the holidays. The raffle tickets are available at Flower Tree, and they are $1 for one ticket and $5 for six tickets. Be sure to get your tickets soon. The drawing will be held on Dec. 15, and the winner doesn’t have to be present to win.

On Dec. 20 CAPS will be at Walmart. We have the mistletoe all ready at the “Kissin’ Booth.” Ki, the all-time “King of Pucker,” will be there to make your holidays sweeter. Become part of Ki’s fan club.

CAPS T-shirts, caps and other gifts will be available.

The 2015 CAPS calendars are ready to be purchased. You may get other calendars but CAPS is special because all the money raised supports the care of animals. Be sure to get one for all of your pet- loving friends. Pick up your copy for only $10 at Mutts Etc., The Uncommon Thread, Flower Tree or 3-Dimension Shipping.

As Christmas approaches, instead of giving yet another tie or sweater to your loved one, consider giving a donation to CAPS in their name. It truly is a gift that keeps on giving for life.

Also, please visit the CAPS website (www.capsnv.org) and Facebook page (Churchill Animal Protection Society). Be sure to “Like” CAPS on Facebook because we are really likable.

Do you have questions, comments or a great story? Please contact me at jkwmil@outlook.com.

This week’s article was contributed by Kathleen Williams-Miller, a CAPS volunteer.