Resident cat application #4

In the long tradition of Indiana Jones, Trooper, Sebastian, and the many other wayward cats who have adopted us over the years (including a bewildering variety of vacation cats), we seem to have a new kitty auditioning for the role of "Zalkan Cat Number Four." This one, though, is interesting because there's a good chance that she might be Max and Maddie's mother.

Here's the facts of this interesting case:

1. Max and Maddie, seen above, are brother and sister. Brett adopted them and their mother seven years ago when their mother (Molly) was pregnant with them and raised all three in the house across the street.
   
   
2. After about a year of mothering two rambunctious kittens, Molly said "Enough with this crap!" and moved out. She wandered over a block and started inserting herself into the lives of a nice retired couple who live on 76th street. They eventually came to see Brett about adopting her, since she was basically living with them, and he said ok.
   
   
3. Before this was all sorted out, Brett attempted to "kidnap" Molly a few times and bring her home, throwing her into his car and driving her back to the house. Which made Molly develop a big fear of Brett.
   
   
   Since then we've seen her once in a while -- we walk by her house frequently and always stop to say hello. She's wary of us but sometimes lets us pet her and has seemed to be very content and well loved and fed over there. Brett misses her, but hey, a girl can choose where she lives, right?
   
   
4. All of a sudden, six or so years later, we started seeing little glimpses here and there of a cat who looks just like Molly -- think Max's color and Molly's long hair. Was it her? We were never sure.
   
   But the visits slowly increased and now, this strange cat is at our house morning, noon, and night, coming in the back catdoor and meowing all over the house, eating our food, and generally hanging out pretty peacefully with all three of our cats. Even Phoenix seems to like her. It looks like Molly, right down to the markings, and sounds like Molly, same distinctive meow. And Max and Maddie are ALWAYS with her, when she comes over, which I find as strong evidence that it might be their mom.
   
   On the con side, Molly is a tiny cat and this one might be a little bit too large and isn't wearing the collar we thought she wore. And she's very, very people-shy, not letting us get anywhere close to her -- possibly moreso than Molly would be.

To figure it out, we really need to get over to her home on 76th street and get a good look at her again. I didn't know her well enough to know for sure if this is her or not, and Brett's got his doubts. One good, close look at the real deal will make it apparent.

Today I got closer to her than I have before. And I have to admit, this cat might not be Molly. She looks a little too bedraggled and skinny, fur all matted up. I thinks she's homeless, whoever she is, and since she gets along with all of our cats just fine, I'm perfectly ok with it if she decides to trust us and move in. She's the best candidate of our fourth cat auditions, less crazy than Indiana, not mean like Trooper, and not likely to eat us out of house and home like Sebastian-the-thirty-pound-wonder. (Sebastian abandoned us after we had a kid -- he has twin toddlers at home and was clearly looking for a second home WITHOUT the pitter patter of little feet.)

But seriously, what are the odds -- two long-haired, orange cats with white feet, both female, with a strange-sounding meow, both hanging out in our neighborhood? Ever the romantic, I'm still hoping it's Molly, come home to live with her kids in her old age. Because how cool would that be?