Visiting Scruffy Gray

So the photo isn't of Scruffy in his new home. It's hard to take a good photo of a kitty stuck in a cage. But there he is - Scruffy Gray. Remember the homeless kitty that showed up on my deck last week?

Heather went to the Humane Society of Skagit Valley yesterday for a volunteer orientation. And to visit Scruffy Gray. How do I know? When she came home she smelled like him. I was not happy. I sniffed her and then ignored her for a long time so she'd get the hint. But here's what she told me about her visit when I was finally ready to listen:

"I was in the middle of the building tour when I walked past Scruffy Gray's cage. I called out to him and I swear he remembered me. He walked over to the bars and placed his head against the door so I could scratch behind his ears. We had to move on so I could only offer him scritchies for a minute.

After the tour (and after my friends adopted a kitty) I came back over to his cage, but Scruffy wouldn't look at me. He didn't even move his ears to acknowledge that he heard me. He hadn't touched his bowl of canned soft food and he was crouched in the back corner of the cage with his eyes shut tight. He looked unhappy. Depressed and frightened, I imagine.

I grabbed a kitty brush and opened his cage door to brush him. I touched the brush softly against his fur and he immediately responded. Scruffy walked over to greet me and rubbed his head against the brush and my hand. I brushed and petted him for about 10 minutes. At that point he noticed that there was food in his bowl and he decided to devour it.

Then Craig showed up and walked over to greet Scruffy Gray. Scruffy got up to say 'hi' and let Craig pet him for a long time. He gave Craig several love nips to show him how much he appreciated the attention. We took Scruffy to a back room to see how he'd interact with another kitty, but the two didn't hit it off. I tried to pick Scruffy up to take him back to his cage and he hissed loudly. I was nervous that he'd bite so I made Craig take him back. We said our goodbyes and left Scruffy in the back of the cage, with his eyes clenched shut just like I found him."

Of course, now that they have visited Scruffy Gray, the question is - will they bring him here to take over my house? I don't know if he'll even play with me. They say he's 9 years old and missing teeth. And Craig and Heather think he's got some problems (maybe arthritis?) because he can't jump at all. Darn it, I am the house kitty. Come on, can't one of you take Scruffy Gray and give him a home?