PET SHARE

I was in the middle of washing dishes when I looked out the window and saw a beautiful orange tabby walking down the path we had in our woods.

Quickly shutting off the faucet and grabbing a towel I called out to my son. “Alex! Come here quick!”

Alex came into the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I pointed to the cat that was in our yard. “Doesn’t he remind you of Curly?”

When my sons were little we’d adopted three orange kittens from the same litter and named them after the Three Stooges, Larry Moe and Curly. We lived at a house where the kittens could be outdoors, but in bad weather were able to have access to a heated room off our porch. It had been the perfect setup for them and us.

“I miss having cats.” I sadly said as I watched the tabby walking through our yard.

“Me, too.” Alex patted me on the shoulder. “But we’re all allergic to cats, remember?”

“I know.” I sighed. “I just liked when we’d sit out on the porch and they’d come around for some head scratches.” I smiled as I thought back. “Those three brothers were so crazy.”

Alex laughed. “When I’d come home from school they’d all be waiting for me at the end of the porch.”

We watched as the tabby wandered around our yard.

Alex looked over at me. “You know, it’s not the first time I’ve seen that cat in our yard.”

“Really?” I was surprised.

Alex started to laugh. “You know you could just start feeding him and maybe he’d come around more often.”

I looked over at Alex. “Oh my gosh!” I clapped my hands together. “That’s a great idea!”

Alex looked confused. “I wasn’t being serious.”

“But I am!” I looked back at the cat. “It’s a perfect solution! No cat box, not cat hair on the furniture and I’ll still be able to enjoy a cat!”

“You’re going to starting leaving food out for him?” Alex didn’t look convinced.

“No, I’m going to get some cat treats.” I was getting more and more excited. “This way we’ll be the house that gives out the special treats and he’ll stop by all the time!”

Alex shook his head. “You do realize he belongs to someone else?”

I pointed to the tabby as it rolled around in the grass. “He’s someone’s outdoor cat. I’m sure they know he roams the neighborhood, so you’d think they’d be happy he was making friends.”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Complete sense.” I looked back at the tabby and began tapping my finger against my chin. “So

what do you think we should call him?”

Just then my husband Steven came into the kitchen and saw the two of us looking out the window. “What’s happening out back?” he asked.

Alex looked over at him. “Mom’s planning on sharing the neighbors cat by giving it treats so it’ll come around more often, and now she’s trying to think of a name for him.”

Steven looked out the window. “What about Shemp?”

“Ah, the fourth little known Stooge.” I looked over at Steven. “I like it!”