Unsung Heroes #197

Alert “06880” reader Netta Levy writes:

I am not a cat person. However, a black cat warmed its way into all our hearts. And not just my family’s, but our entire Coleytown street.

A few months ago, a black cat came around the neighborhood, every so often. A few weeks ago we saw it more regularly. It meowed, looked for attention and waited for kids at the bus stop. It even had a love interest down the street, named Paws.

Black cat (left) and Paws.

We first posted on Facebook’s Westport Front Porch looking for its rightful owner, but didn’t get much. Some people thought this was a feral black cat who had been seen around town a few years back. But we were not convinced.

Luckily, due to that post, Dorrie Harris found her way to us.

Dorrie volunteers with TAILS. An all-volunteer nonprofit in Westport, they support spaying or neutering of cats and dogs.

Dorrie dropped off food so we could feed the cat, which we called Berry. Every night at dinner we put out food; every night Berry came.

Our family and entire street got involved. Berry started coming more often — mornings, nights, during rain hiding in our planters, playing with my daughter, cozying up to my husband in the yard.

Berry playing with Netta Levy’s daughter …

We knew this cat had a home somewhere. This was not an outdoor cat.

Dorrie tried to trap it without success. Berry was smart and fast, and escaped the trap.

We waited a couple more weeks to do it again. Dorrie had already invested hours making sure Berry (now Blackberry) was ok. She emailed, phoned and visited, to ensure the cat was still coming around and was healthy.

The second trapping attempt yielded no results either. Dorrie sat for an hour, but the cat was a no-show.

As soon as Dorrie left, Blackberry came for dinner.

… and cozying up to her husband. (Photos/Netta Levy)

For the third attempt, Dorrie brought a foolproof, fancy trap. As soon as Blackberry came for the food, Dorrie trapped it.

Next came the important work:  taking the cat to the vet, making sure it was healthy, looking for a microchip and seeing if there an owner somewhere.

Dorrie called me the other day with good news. Luna — a female — did have a microchip. Her owners lived in Stamford.

Luna had gotten out on a rainy night last November. After searching for it unsuccessfully, the owners reported her missing to the microchip company.

Nobody knows how she got from Stamford to Westport, but the ending was happy all around. Luna is now back with her owners, thanks to TAILS and all their work.

We will miss our neighborhood cat. But we are extremely happy that Luna is back with her family, where she belongs.

NOTE:  TAILS is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization. With no paid staff, TAILS puts every dollar donated directly to saving animals.

They rely on donations – both monetary, and goods and services – to do what they do. Click here to help.

(To nominate an Unsung Hero, email dwoog@optonline.net)