In which I almost achieve a lifelong dream

Last week I received yet another "Save this cat!" email in my inbox. Sob story: cat is unhappy indoors, and sprays. Cat is sent to Animal Services. Cat is scheduled for euthanasia.

Enter the soft-hearted, cat-rescue-minded corporate employee that encountered said cat and sent out the email.

Enter yours truly. "I've always wanted a cat!" I think. "And this one has to be outdoors, so it won't cause any problems for my allergy-prone guy! This is the perfect cat for me!" I email the cat rescue person. Discussions ensue. Then I go away to a management conference (!), and ask the cat rescue woman to stall Animal Services on the whole euthanasia thing till I got back.

And while the cat rescue woman stalled, Animal Services decided that the cat did not spray after all, that probably its owners were lying (to make themselves feel better about dumping it?!). And so the cat is now officially up for adoption - for a family that has an indoor/outdoor home for it. This means that the cat is no longer for me.

I tell myself that hey, great, I saved a cat! My stalling gave it the time it needed to prove it could be a Good Pet after all. But somehow, that doesn't quite make up for expecting that by this time this week, I'd have a cat to pet when I get home.