Seven cats…yes…well, I suppose it’s official now: Stefano and I are a couple of crazy cat people…And, I would like to add, proud to be so… 😉

How we went from six to seven is a long, complicated story, but I’ll try to keep it short…

In April, while Stefano and I were in the U.S., one of our neighbors here in Florence sold his house and moved to another (Italian) city, a mere three hours’ drive from here. He took his dog with him and promised to come back as soon as possible for his cat — a female “inside/outside” cat that had lived with him and his family since she was born, about ten years ago. Yes, the cat is 10 years old…keep that in mind as you read the rest of the story…

The day he moved, my next door neighbor kindly offered to feed his cat, at her own expense…And as soon as I returned from the U.S., I began feeding the kitty, too. In the beginning, we were sure that our former neighbor would return for his cat. He just couldn’t abandon her after all these years…right?

But the summer months went by, and there was no sign of him. No calls…nothing.

By the time Stefano and I returned from the U.S., in late August, it was obvious that the kitty had been abandoned. I don’t think I need to comment on that…

Now, it soon became clear that the kitty had taken a particular fancy to Stefano and me (well, how could it be otherwise? 😉 ). She spent most of her time in our garden or on our terrace. Every time I’d go outside, she’d come running with her tail straight up in the air, and she’d begin rubbing against my legs, purring madly. Such a sweet little lady.

Winter is coming, although the past week you wouldn’t have know it — it’s been quite warm and damp here in Florence…more like early summer than late fall. But the cool nights are around the corner, I’m sure. And Stefano and I couldn’t bear the thought of this kitty out in the cold, without proper shelter, etc. And so, with our neighbors’ approval, Stefano and I decided to adopt our little lady.

Last week we took her to our vet for a checkup, which went very well, except she has ear mites, which means that she has to be kept isolated from the other cats for about a week (ear mites, which are very common in outside cats, are very contagious to other cats). She also has a rather bad case of gingivitis, which I am attempting to treat with curcumin (mixed in with her wet food). We’ll see how that goes…

Anyway, until the ear mite problem clears up, she can’t be introduced to our other cats, which means that I am sleeping with her (and spending as much time as I can with her) in our second bedroom.

The first night we spent together I barely got a wink of sleep — she kept kneading me, from head to toe, purring in my ears, walking all over me…the happiest kitty in the world.

She’s definitely ours now. And we have finally found a good name for her…we’ve named her after my sister: Pammy.

Pammy now has a loving family…

A forever family, this time!