When I finally found an apartment where I could have a cat in my new town, I immediately headed to the animal shelter.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I'd wanted to do this for as long as I could remember, I didn't even want to look at all the cats I could choose from so I asked the lady at the shelter's front desk to show me the cat that had been here the longest, the ugliest, or the one no one seemed to show any interest in. The lady immediately grabbed a file and took me back to the cat rooms.
"I have a cat here I think fits your description pretty well. He was brought here as a kitten six years ago. People never look twice at him because he has skin allergies and is missing a lot of fur and he has always had a deformed ear. People see the bald patches and that ear and they move right on to the next cat."
As soon as I met this cat I fell in love. He was in the tunnel of a cat tree in the middle of the room and poked his head out when we walked in, he stretched and came out, making sweet little mewling noises and yawning. Despite all the past rejection, his loving spirit hadn't been damaged at all, he hopped up on the cat tree's tallest point and rubbed his head against my shoulder and purred his deep, loud rumbley purr, looking at me with bright green eyes that clearly said: "I've been waiting for you for so long!". I didn't have to think twice, he was the cat for me so I took him home that very day and named him Valkyrie.
Today, I have his allergies under control and much of his fur has grown back and he is the most loving cat I've ever owned. Even my cat-disliking husband thinks he's an awesome cat. Never judge a cat by it's cover, because it could be pure gold under all it's scruffiness and scars.
West Plains, MO
