A colleague of mine was smoking a cigarette on her porch in her Allentown neighborhood when a little black cat started visiting her. The cat was skittish, but sweet, and seemed to like only her.

My colleague suspected little black cat, who started out as George, was pregnant. So my colleague earned her trust and brought her into her apartment to have her kittens and then get her fixed via No Nonsense Neutering.

Georgie had one kitten and it died at a few days old. My colleague had Georgie spayed and her ear clipped as she would be returning to the other community cats in the neighborhood.

But a neighbor wanted to adopt Georgie, so Georgie stayed inside with my colleague. That opportunity fell through, and now Georgie had adapted someone to being in the house but she didn’t get along with my colleague’s cat.

And the apartment was too small for two cats who didn’t get along. My colleague did everything right.

But Georgie had spent her life on the streets and did not trust another cat.

In the middle of all of this, my colleague got a serious cancer diagnosis and started chemo. She asked me if Feline Urban Rescue and Rehab could find the cat a home. I asked her to fill out the surrender form and I would foster her myself.

So, welcome Georgie.