Erin

Rykah's father moved in with us (as a roommate) in mid-2005 for just over a year, and took over my garden during that time and so it was he, not me, who was often outside and in the garage.

A small orange tabby turned up in the garage, about six weeks old, slightly too young to be away from its mother. It was definitely wild, and seemed to have been traumatized by something--it refused to leave the safety of our garage. Rykah and I had never even been able to see it, as it hid whenever we came near! But Lu put out food for it, and gradually drew it to him, and it gradually let him pet it, and it gradually let him pick it up and pet it.

After awhile we opened the house door so it could come in, and then I had Lu take it back to his room with a litterbox for a few weeks so it would have its own territory, not have to battle the other cats for box time or food, and it lived in his room for quite awhile, becoming a fully indoor cat. He named it Aaron, I can't remember why.

One day when I estimated the cat was about six months old, Lu finally was able to bring me the cat and really SHOW me more than just a head poking out over his arms. "That cat is female!" I exclaimed, astonished. I have never known of any orange tabby to be anything but male. I'm sure a female orange tabby is not as rare as a male patch calico for example (my cousin had one of those), but it was very unexpected. So we changed the name from Aaron to Erin, as that was feminine.

When I took her to the vet to get her shots and spayed (not that she would let me touch her, Lu had to put her in the carrier), the vet's assistant (who is his wife) mentioned that she had never seen an orange tabby female either. I hoped that spaying her would "mellow her out," but it's been months and I have seen no sign of it!

At times, if I am kind to her constantly, she will let me pet her, usually just once, sometimes a few strokes... I don't dare more or she freaks out and attacks. Sometimes she is very weird, and I can pet her a few strokes, back off and not be touching her or even looking at her, and she will literally jump out and attack me. Like Boo, our other orange tabby, she seems to have claws longer/sharper than all the other cats.

She is still half-wild. The current status (Dec 06) is that she had better get used to us or she will become a fully outdoor cat -- since a wild cat that draws blood has the petting quotient of a goldfish in my view--but even worse. :-)

Her saving grace, of course, is that she is one of the cutest things alive. I mean she is utterly adorable, loves to play, and looks (deceptively) sweet and innocent!
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