The poet T.S. Eliot wrote, �When a cat adopts you, there is nothing to be done about it except to put up with it and wait until the wind changes.�
Connie Hudson hopes the wind never changes at her Raleigh County home. �I have three cats that live in my house and 25 more in a cattery. I�m usually feeding 50 to 60 cats in all,� she notes.
How did a professional dog groomer end up with a home full of cats?
�I live out in the country and we have lot of drop-offs,� Hudson explains. �I have 8 acres of land, so they�re not really bothering anybody.�
Some of the felines that roam her property, stopping by the house for a quick bite of Kibble, are feral, Hudson points out.
�The wild ones come and go. They won�t let you touch them, much less take them for shots or to get them fixed,� she says. �There�s one big male that�s been around for a long while. I�ve never laid a hand on him.�
The residents of the cattery are another matter.
�I have cats as old as 14 in the cattery and I can pet all of them. They have a pretty good life there,� Hudson says.
The fenced cattery contains a heated building for the cats� comfort, along with a large yard and a playground equipped with an assortment of cat trees and a wooden fort.
Of her indoor cats, Hudson says, �I pamper my pets. One cat even rides my four-wheeler with me; he�s kind of spoiled.�
She refuses to turn any of the rescued cats over to a shelter for fear �they�d probably be put down on the spot.� And the animals are rarely placed in another home, leaving Hudson with a growing financial burden.
�It gets expensive,� she acknowledges. �I do without a lot.�
�Every now and then, a friend brings me a bag of cat food, and that helps.�
Hudson says she doubts her clients at Holleyday Grooming in Beaver are even aware she provides a home for so many rescued animals.
�They just know me to say hello,� she says.
Although she isn�t comfortable asking for monetary contributions to help defray her expenses, Hudson says she welcomes donations of cat food and kitty litter, which can be dropped off at Holleyday.
Despite the drain on her finances and her time, Hudson has no intention of abandoning her feline family. �I�ve got some Native American in me; I think it�s in my blood to do this,� she says.
� E-mail: talvey@register-herald.com
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Woman a dedicated friend to rescued felines
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