At the Office Water Cooler with a Cat Lady

The cat lady began to settle at her new job. After the meeting with the icebreaker questions, the word spread around the office that she was a cat lady with a lot of cats.

Since she had more cats than usual (but not too many cats for her), cats quickly became a conversation starter when she refilled her water cup.

Conversation One

“Hello, I hear you have nine cats?” asked a man she had seen walk by her cubicle a few times.

“Yes,” replied the cat lady. “It’s true. We have seven indoor cats and two outdoor cats.”

“Oh, why aren’t the outdoor cats allowed inside,” her coworker inquired.

The cat lady gave a long explanation about feral cats, community cats, and Trap-Neuter-Return.

She continued that while she could pet the cats, they feared other humans, including her husband. The two cats were “feeder friendly,” meaning they only trusted her because she gave them food and spent a little time talking to them each day.

The coworker was surprised to learn that it can take years to earn the trust of an outdoor cat.

“That’s amazing,” said the coworker as he refilled his water glass for a second time! Perhaps the cat lady didn’t pick up on his signals that she was talking about the cats for too long.

Conversation Two

The next day, another person approached the cat lady when getting a hot chocolate from the machine in the break room.

“Oh, I see you have a cat on your shirt!” exclaimed the lady. “I love cats and have four myself.”

“Cats are my favorite too,” said the cat lady.

It turned out this lady was also a cat lady. She went into great detail about how she rescued stray kittens from her yard that a mom cat had abandoned. And she did everything to ensure the mom cat wasn’t coming back.

The cat lady very much enjoyed meeting her new cat lady friend. They made plans to meet later in the week for lunch.

About The Cat Story Series

I want to be a better writer. Like becoming better at anything, it takes practice. I am posting a short cat stories based on a photo, a writing prompt, a true story, or something I make up.

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Heidi Bender is the writer and founder of the Joy of Cats. She enjoys sharing cat information and providing helpful cat tips. She considers herself a cat lady and currently cares for eight cats.

2 thoughts on “At the Office Water Cooler with a Cat Lady”

  1. I guess she meant that she made sure the mother cat was not going to return for her kittens before she rescued them? That was kind of ambiguous.

    Reply

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