Nov 17, 2013

A Cat Rescuer's Tale: Mort

Mort the Rescued Cat, Mort The Rescuer of Cats
Mort Cat comes in from the tree line. He spotted me in the yard and will be following me around until I'm gone again. That's Mort. But there is more to this story....

We've seen Mort many times on this blog. He was a very sick feral kitten who got rescued and tamed. I put him up for adoption, but there were no takers, sadly. So Mort stayed here with us.

I always feel bad when a kitty is tamed but can't find a home. I feel like I've failed. It's just something I try not to think about too much, because it makes me sad. Sometimes, though, there may be another purpose in life.

More than a year ago, Mort figured out how to scratch at the front door of my sister's house to ask for food. He often does this in the middle of the night, so it can be slightly annoying. Especially when you consider that he is pretty well-fed in general. Nevertheless, his efforts often produce a can of food, so he keeps doing it.

More recently, my sister mentioned to me that Mort has been appearing more than once at the door, begging for food. The problem is that there is often another cat (sometimes more) there and Mort doesn't actually get anything as a result. I felt bad for Mort, and began wishing he'd at least be more aggressive about eating the food that he begged for. He's not lacking for food, though, so it wasn't a big deal.

Today, my sister mentioned again that Mort had scratched at the door twice in the night. The first time, she gave him a can of food and as far as she knew, he actually got to eat it.  Much later, he was back at the door again, and my sister, generous as she is, got out of bed to give him a can of food.

This time, though, there was another cat there; a feral Siamese-ish kitty, standing several feet away, too timid to approach the door.  My sister put the food down, anyway... When Mort got his can of food, he looked at it, looked at the Siamese, looked back at the food..... back and forth between the kitty and the food. ...And then he walked away.

This happens more and more. Mort appears with strange cats, asking for food but not eating it.

Something finally clicked in my brain. Only now did it hit me: Mort isn't asking for food because he's hungry; Mort is asking for food because his friend is hungry. Mort's friends are always feral and too timid to come anywhere near people, so Mort asks for food for them!  This realization was almost too much for my brain and it is still sinking-in as I write this: Having once been a sick and hungry feral, Mort has become a hero to others of his kind. When kitties are in need, Mort gets help for them.

Mort the Rescued has grown up to become Mort the Rescuer.

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5 comments:

  1. Mort is an angel kitty. His purpose is to help other kitties in need. He was meant to be with you.

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  2. yay for Mort....we are glad he is helping out where he can

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  3. dood....way awesum storee...we loves thiz...just another reezon chriss kneads ta put two gether a book bout everee onez storee....N ta chriss....pleez due knot ever think ewe haz failed theeze kittehz...ta them ewe bee sooooper mom...ya feed em, look out for em, give em shelter N care for em best az ewe can...thatz knot failure...thatz compaassion...thatz success....ewe N yur sister both iz de werld ta theeze guyz....honest N trooly N promize....we bee catz....N catz due knot lie !!~~XXXXXXXXXX

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  4. Mort is such a sweetie! This warmed my heart!

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Comments are welcome! I always answer questions if I can.