Most of the many wonderful cats I have rescued over the years survived trauma before finding a peaceful home, whether forced to live on the streets, dumped at a shelter, left behind in an owner’s move, or was feral with kittens, all had traumatic experiences. But my beloved Morgan had to deal with more than most, because she was abandoned twice.

My role in her story began 17 years ago. At the time, all of my Saturday mornings were spent setting up and staffing a cat rescue adoption site at the Pet Food Express in Pleasant Hill. Before the cats were brought in by their foster parents, I would spend a couple of hours setting up tables, disinfecting cages, and putting up signage, adoption information and marketing materials. One unusual Saturday morning as I was in the midst of getting the site ready, a stranger walked up with a cat carrier. I was thinking, “boy this foster parent is showing up really early!” but this man didn’t act like a foster parent. He was instead agitated, aggressive and belligerent, and as soon as he saw me, he blurted out that his family no longer wanted “this cat” they had adopted from us two years ago. He complained she was shy, scared and terrified of his kids.