Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets

So a weird thing happened to me today. It left me crying but has a happy ending.

A vet from NE Indiana called me and said one of their clients brought in a cat with a microchip they traced back to a shelter which gave them my number. Which was really confusing as my cats were all with me...except...

When I moved to work on campus there was at the time no pet policy and we did not have Emotional Support/Assistance Animal paperwork, so we rehomed our 3 cats. It's the only time I've ever done that and the only time I ever will barring something that's the best decision for the animal. Two went to a friend's mom, but one went with our roommate - he was flaky but had really bonded with this little black female we called Princess.

Said roommate disappeared off the face of the earth for me though it turns out my partner very occasionally got second hand updates. He's likely ended up in jail for not paying debts - a thing he wasn't great at before - and either the cat was turned out after that or maybe escaped or ran away. Id like to think it was an accident. And it has been 9 years since that move. Princess was found on the street, maybe not far from "home" but definitely not being taken care of any longer. Talking to the vet I was honest that I didn't know what to do and I sort of crumpled emotionally at the fact my decision had led to Princess's suffering and that I didn't think I could reasonably take her back, having just added a new kitten to the house and with our two adults still adjusting... But also unwilling to abandon Princess.

Turns out the woman who found her - we have the same first name - was willing to keep her and willing to share photos. She was hoping to make her an indoor kitty again if their existing animals would tolerate it (but if not they have a colony that lives on their land with shelter in the garage) but at least for now she's gotten treated, and is getting loved and cared for. She's got to be at least 12 years old.

I feel so responsible for her suffering, and so grateful that she's got a loving home again. I tell myself I'd have found a way to make it work to bring her home with us if we needed to but I think 4 would be too many for us to manage. She had a BB under her skin when we got her, and still does. I can't believe I got to see her again, even just by pictures. I keep crying but I'm also happy for her.