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One day I was walking my two Labradors at a park by my house. There was an abandoned road by the park where people had recently begun dumping construction debris and brush. On one side of the road was a vet, and people had also released cats, so there were several ferals by the road. These cats always disappeared when I came with my two big dogs, but this day was different.

CAT. PHOTO: PIXABAY / LONGLEANNA

I heard a cat meowing when I parked my vehicle. The dogs got out of my SUV and immediately ran to a pile of brush where a white paw took a swipe at them. They backed up but then stuck their noses in again. The same white paw swung at them again. The dogs were bored with this so we continued our walk.

Our black Lab was a retriever, so I was throwing a tennis ball with a chuck it. This continued until a white paw swung at the ball the dog had retrieved. It was a beautiful young adult kitten with blue eyes. Our retrieving Lab was shocked this cat had touched her ball but we continued and the cat followed us. When we got back in our SUV, the cat jumped in the front seat and sat in my lap as we drove home.

When we arrived at my house, the dogs went inside and collapsed on the cool tile floor. (It was June in Florida and hot!) The cat looked at the two dogs and laid down next to the yellow Lab who was the calmer of the two. Now I was freaking out! My husband and I are dog people and have no experience with cats. I immediately called several friends who are cat owners asking for assistance. They advised me to take the cat to the vet and check for a microchip.

PHOTO: ELIZABETH UNDERWOOD

At the vet, we found out that the cat did not have a microchip. He was already neutered, had evidence that he had had a collar around his neck, and he was probably younger than a year. His paws were pink and clean, so he was not a street cat. Also, the vet said he was a special kind of Siamese cat.

I advertised him in all the appropriate social media venues near me and received no responses. Fortunately, a friend of a friend had lost her cat and was very excited to adopt this cat. We were both very pleased with this arrangement. She named him Rocky.

We left for the summer and I began to hear reports that the cat was climbing the curtains, scratching my friend, and was definitely not a lap cat. Because my friend was a cancer survivor, her oncologist told her the cat had to be rehomed because he was scratching her legs. She called me in tears! We agreed that she would keep the cat until we arrived home in early September and then he could return to us.

PHOTO: ELIZABETH UNDERWOOD

I tried to rehome him when we returned but there was no interest, so Rocky became part of our pet family with two dogs. He still is happier being outside most of the time and is definitely not a lap cat. Today he travels with us back and forth from Florida to New York with the two dogs. He is very happy in both environments.

So the moral of this story is that cats choose you!

Story submitted by Elizabeth Underwood.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!