You Can't Always Get What You Want

There was a cat food commercial I used to find hilarious,it involved a family that adopted a stray cat on a dark and stormy night. No, I don't find stray or homeless cats funny, but the stray they patted off with a towel was either a Maine Coon or a Persian. Given the state of the cat' s coat he had obviously - and  recently been abandoned by a groomer. The Comercial makes me laugh because well, I've adopted cats off my porch, from under the house, under a bed, the pound and not one has been a Persian. My first cat was a tabby, much like the one I have now. I mentioned I would love to have a cat and a relative deposited one ASAP. I went to the pound for the next one, surely they must have one long haired cat. They might have but I could not see past desperate orange tabby trying so hard to get my attention. Mr Lee came next, born to the stray we took in under Adams bed. The mother took off ASAP, I re homed most of them and we kept the tiny black runt. We were not good at figuring out the boy or girl cat thing so it was intedesting when Mr Lee gave birth to 3 kittens, one of whom had long hair that we kept. We had one brief moment of that tiny longhaired cat- stolen and gone. Claw came next grey and white. Vincent, stray, starving and black appeared next, beaten to a pulp. And now Scout, teeny tabby dumped. I gave up on the persian years ago, I had a patient that put it all into perspective for me. She saved abandoned animals and one day I was admiring one of her rescues. He was a magnificent long haired dark grey cat with the most startling green eyes. I said what a beautiful cat and she rolled her eyes. That cat she said was too damaged and skittish to give to anyone. But,pointing to a half grown one "that yellow cat loves everyone, he is the nicest cat. I took him off a man who was getting ready to break his neck because he wouldn't go away. He just kept coming back and the guy threw him, and he came back again and again". She looked at that cat, angry. "Do you want him,?No of course you don't, who wants him - he's nothing, a nobody. No one wants a plain yellow cat do they?". She took a couple of steadying breaths and apologized for getting so upset, but I could see what she meant. So after that MY perspective changed - which is why my cats come off the porch, out from under beds and are retrieved from the garage. To quote The Stones you don't always get what you want, but if you try - sometimes you get what you need.