The Story of Me and Thor
Six years ago, I brought Thor home from the Gloucester County Animal Shelter. It was the result of a month's old search for a replacement for my last cat, an 18-year-old who had eventually succumbed to kidney disease. The process was arduous. I had no idea what I was looking for - only that I was looking for a cat who was looking for me. That is to say, I'd know it when I saw it. When I saw Thor (the name the shelter had given him) he was a 1-to-2 year-old cat, in a cage with a tag, saying that there was no record of how he came to be in the shelter. Usually, they know. Allergies, financial problems, or some other reason why the cats are there. With Thor, no reason. I picked him out of the group - mostly because of his handsome features - and partly because he kept staring at me, and when the attendants handed him to me, he reached out with his paw and held it to my cheek. The attendants were dumbfounded. "He's never done that with anyone!"...