Soldier

This is Soldier. He looks a lot like Cocoa except he has white patches on his chest and belly.

Cocoa definitely does not think there is enough room in this house for two black cats. Lucky for Cocoa, Soldier is only here temporarily. He's a foster cat with a bit of a twist. He was one of my shelter's cats last year and was adopted in early 2008. His mom lived in an apartment and the apartment has black mold. She recently got very ill with double pneumonia and was hospitalized then was in a coma. Now she's doing better, but she's had to move out of that horrible apartment and is having problems getting out of her lease. Also, she fears she may lose her job. She and her daughter moved in with her mother until she can get another place. Her mother has a dog that goes after Soldier. She also has some birds that Soldier would love to turn into snacks. She didn't have any options for placing Soldier temporarily so she came to the store Tuesday night while I was doing adoptions and asked if the shelter could take him back for a little while. Nobody's asked me that. Usually that just want to give up the cats permanently. I know we'd take him back, that's our policy. But I didn't know if we'd take him temporarily. So I told her I'd take him if that didn't work out. As it turns out, he's being "boarded" by the shelter and placed with me as a foster. There's no charge to his mom. He's spending most of his time in my spare room. His mom brought over all of his stuff, including a big cat tree that is identical to mine. I put it in front of his window. When I pulled into the driveway tonight, I saw him curled up on the top. He's been here only since Saturday so just a few days. I let him out frequently when I'm home, but he's chased after my cats and he and Leo and a smackdown on the cat tree in my bedroom this morning. Tonight he ran after Scully. He's also gone after Cocoa. It's minor stuff and I feel confident they will sort it out over the next several days so he can be out with everyone else and not cooped up in his room. I hope he won't have to be here for too long. I know his mom and her little girl are missing him and he them. And I'm sure Cocoa will gladly help him pack his bags when it's time for him to go!