So there we are, Walmart parking lot; It's nighttime, the seats are back, sleeping bags down, windows mostly covered, ready for bed. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a kitten trot out of the shrubs towards our car. "CAT!" I yell, pointing wildly.
Esther opens her door, and I jump out, coaxing her towards us. She immediately starts meowing, clearly wanting to come over to us, but hesitant due to her time on the streets. She would come close enough for me to touch her, then run away and hide under the car. We grabbed some cheese, and started luring her towards us, and she devoured it ravenously. I picked up up, grabbing her scruff so she wouldn't scratch, and got her in the car. She ate the cheese i fed her greedily, and started to purr. She clearly wasn't feral her whole life, because she was so damn friendly. We calmed her down, and started looking for shelters on our phones (had she been a dog, we'd still have her, but a cat is slightly difficult to keep in a car; It's a litter box issue). We found one right nearby, and made our way, hoping there would be an after hours emergency drop-off box that we'd seen in other states. No dice. So we sat in the parking lot, calling shelters and humane societies around Nashville, trying to find someone to take her. They were all closed, and since it was Saturday night, everything was closed Sunday, and some were even closed Monday. But the humane society was open at twelve on Sunday, so that was our best and only bet. We went back to Walmart, got a couple cans of kitten food, and finagled a cat bed/urine proof box out of some Walmart bags and a pizza box, and settled in for the night. She was so affectionate, rubbing herself all over our necks and face, and purring like crazy. She bounced between us, curling up in the weirdest places (like under my back, and on Esther's throat), and meowing for us everytime she woke up. Needless to say, we didn't sleep very well, but she did. We decided to name her Dali, after Dolly Parton (because we were in Nashville) and Salvador Dali (because we're weird). We planned to kill some time at the skate park nearby until we could drop her off at twelve, but it was raining, (of course)so we spent two hours sitting in the Target parking lot across the street, chilling with Dali. Twelve o'clock came, and we went into the shelter, where Satan reared his ugly head.
"We have a stray cat we'd like to drop off"
"Do ya'll have an appointment?"
"Do we need one?"
"Well, to remain a low-kill"(exact words)"shelter, we only admit pets by appointment"
"Well, we arn't from around here. Were sleeping in our car-"
He interupted us "Well I'm just telling you how we do things here. There will be a woman who can tell you if we have any room, if you wait a second"
So we stood, Dali digging her claws into my chest, and none of the workers giving us a second look. Finally Satan came out, an older woman with bleached hair. The first guy asked if there were any cages available, and she shook her head, interrupting him like it was the dumbest question she had ever been asked. He directed her attention to us, and she told us the same thing.
"Animal control opens at 8 tomorrow morning, they should have room"
"Well, were sleeping in our car tonight, we really don't have any place for her."
"Well, why'd you pick her up?" She laughed, like we were idiots for attempting to help a stray cat. We emerged from hell, furious, and with no other options. We had to leave her in a nice, secluded, wooded neighborhood where hopefully some nice family would find her and take her in. So if you're ever wondering why people just abandon pets on the street, now you know. Animal shelters apparently don't like animals, unless they come from rich families. Setting her down in the grass broke my heart. The animal shelter didn't directly euthanize Dali, they just let her starve on the streets. Blargh.
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