My Jersey Girl

by Leslie Bell
(Pottstown, Pennsylvania)

I never knew how wonderful cooners were until I found a 3-month old (approx) kitten wandering at night, alone, in a park in New Jersey (I live in Pennsylvania). She was trotting along the side of a road when I saw her. When I picked her up, I could feel that she had many scratches on her little body, and she was very thin, except for the bloated belly that is usually a telltale sign of roundworm infection.

I was on my way to a concert in the park, so I put her in my car for the time being. When I returned, she was curled up on the back seat, napping peacefully. Somehow I think she sensed that she was safe, and could let her guard down and truly rest without fear of being attacked.

I had no idea what to do at the moment, other than to take her back to Pennsylvania with me and try to find a no-kill shelter where she could be adopted. I already had two cats; one more was out of the question.

However - it didn't take long for me to fall in love with this sweet little girl, with her beautiful orange, black, and brown tabby-striped coat, white tufted paws (I call them her "big buttercream paws"), pale jade-green eyes and adorable white powder puff at the tip of her bushy tail. I took her to the veterinarian the very next day, rather than to a shelter, then to her forever home with my two tabbies and me. I named her "Jersey", after the Garden State, since that's where I found her. And what a lucky find, for both of us!

Leslie Bell

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