“Now she lives a life of luxury” ❤️
It was a brisk September day when Isabel, a Connecticut resident, ventured out on a routine walk with her sons, Ari and River. As they often did, the trio marched up their long, woodsy road, taking in all the end-of-summer sights and sounds.
They aimed to reach the top of the hill and enjoy the view overlooking their neighborhood. But their plans were suddenly derailed when, out of nowhere, they heard a muffled cry for help beneath their feet.
“We heard these little squeaky meows, but we couldn’t figure out where they were coming from,” Isabel told The Dodo. “They sounded like they were coming from underground.”
Isabel, Ari and River stopped in their tracks as soon as they heard the first faint meow. They searched high and low for the source of the cries until they came across an open drainage pipe beneath the road.
Seconds later, they found themselves face-to-face with a full-grown calico cat crouching in the drainpipe’s opening.
The little family was instantly intrigued by the mysterious cat. They were familiar with every pet in their neighborhood and knew she didn’t belong to anyone in the community. Despite being a stranger, the cat was incredibly friendly.
“We stopped and sat on the side of the road to see if she’d come out, and she did!” Isabel said. “She even let us pet her a few times before she got back in the drain.”
After enjoying a few pats from her new friends, the cat hurried back into the drainage pipe. That’s when Isabel started asking around about her.
“Because of how friendly she was, we knew right away that she wasn’t feral,” Isabel said. “But the odd part was that she wouldn’t leave the little area near the drain. We thought she was a lost pet, so we asked around the neighborhood, and no one was missing her.”
The cat refused to stray from the drainpipe, but Isabel and her sons couldn’t stand leaving her to fend for herself.
“We started to visit and leave her food every day, as did a few of our neighbors,” Isabel said. “One of them said that she’d already been there about a week or so …”
Isabel could tell that the cat was older, and as temperatures began to drop that week, she became determined to rescue her. She contacted everyone she knew and reached out to multiple shelters in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts. But, sadly, no one could take her.
With a cat of her own at home, Isabel feared she couldn’t take the drainpipe-dweller in herself. But the empathetic mom refused to abandon her.
“I just couldn’t leave her there,” Isabel said. “She was so sweet and came out to get pets every time we walked by.”
So, Isabel and her sons decided to try to capture the cat and bring her to the vet to confirm she was healthy. As it turned out, the caring family didn’t need to try much to lure the cat out of her hiding place.
“I didn’t have anything to lure her out,” Isabel said. “I just let her come out of the drain as usual and then scooped her up in the carrier and took her to the vet.”
As soon as they got to the vet, Isabel’s perspective on bringing the cat home changed entirely.
“It was at the vet’s that I knew I had to figure out a way to keep her,” Isabel said. “The vet said that her behavior (not leaving that one spot on the side of the road and no one having seen her before) probably meant that someone had dumped her there. She’s about 10 years old and was definitely someone’s pet before we found her.”
The poor, abandoned cat soon received a clean bill of health. And by the time she was leaving the clinic, the sweet girl had secured a forever home with Isabel’s family.
“I told the vet that I wanted to find her a home but couldn’t, and he laughed and said, ‘Congratulations on your new cat,’” Isabel said.
Isabel took the cat, whom her sons lovingly named Drain Pipe, home — and the sweet girl has been enjoying her life with them ever since.
“At first, she was very shy,” Isabel said. “She would just do laps around the house, sniffing and scratching at everything, and she’d hide every time there was a noise in the house. Now, she loves cottage cheese, and her favorite sleeping spot is on a kitchen chair with a pillow on it.”
It’s been a couple of months since Drain Pipe joined Isabel’s family, and she couldn’t be happier. She even gets along with her cat sibling, who happens to be the same age as her.
When she’s not curled up on her favorite chair, Drain Pipe can usually be found cuddling her little humans or running around her new backyard. No matter what she’s doing, Drain Pipe’s life is infinitely better now that she has a family who loves her.
“She’s a lovely and odd old lady,” Isabel said. “Now she lives a life of luxury.”
