Doo-Dad (ePub)

Doo-Dad, a feral cat who took a chance on love
Doo-Dad was an abandoned cat living on the streets and alleys and under vacant homes with crawl spaces. I found him hiding between the fence of our property and that of the church property next door. He was covered in dirt and was very thin. His ears were folded down, which led me to believe he was a Scottish Fold cat.
I walked toward him with a bowl of food, but he ran across the alley and under a vacant home. He wouldn't come out to eat until I left the yard and was back onto my back porch. I continued to feed this feral cat each day, morning and evening, talking to him while he ate so he would get used to my voice. As he looked deeply into my eyes each day, I fell in love with him, and something spoke to my heart. I knew I had to rescue this little cat no matter how long it took to save him.
Doo-Dad fought to stay alive every day as was evident by the multiple injuries he had on his face and ears. He had an injury on the top of his head where he had been scalped from ear to ear. The fur on top his head was dangling, and you could see an open wound. It was urgent now that we try again to find a way to catch him and get him to a vet.
This story is about Doo-Dad's two-year journey from a feral cat to a loving member of our family and chronicles the daily process that we went through to get him medical care and gain his trust. This was not an easy process as he constantly bit and scratched me even though I knew it was not out of meanness but fear. His courage through this entire process and his willingness to overcome fear and learn to trust and accept love has touched the hearts of all who knew him.