It was around 6 p.m. at my friend’s house when I first saw him—a small, scruffy cat resting by the shed in the backyard. He looked tired, dirty, and clearly had been through a lot. My friend and I decided to grab some treats and cat food to see if we could help. After about 20 minutes, I realized I couldn’t just leave him there like that, so I called my mom to ask if we could bring him home.
At first, she wasn’t too sure. “We already have pets,” she said, understandably. But after a bit of convincing, she agreed to let me bring him home temporarily, just until we could figure out if he had an owner. I gave him a bath, and he looked a lot cleaner afterward. He wasn’t as scruffy, but his fur still wasn’t perfect. The real question was whether my parents would actually warm up to him.
After we settled him in, we noticed he was pretty weak, so we took him to the vet. It turned out he had some parasites, so we got him treated. They also checked for a microchip, but there wasn’t one. We figured he probably didn’t have an owner, and that’s when we decided to keep him. We named him Pebbles—because he was small and kind of rough around the edges, but sweet once you got to know him.
At first, my parents were a little unsure, but Pebbles quickly started to win them over. He loved to play, and we bought him some treats—catnip ones were his favorite. He’d roll around on the floor, kicking them with his paws, looking like he couldn’t get enough. We also got him a feather wand(click here), and he would chase it around, jumping and pouncing with so much energy. And the laser pointer(click here)? He’d follow that red dot everywhere, running into walls sometimes, but he didn’t mind.
One of his best toys, though, was the little plush cat bed(click here) we bought him. It looked like a tiny cave, and Pebbles immediately made it his spot. He would curl up in there for naps, purring contently. It was clear that he loved having a safe, quiet place to sleep.
Looking back, I’m really glad I found him. Pebbles went from being a stray in my friend’s backyard to part of our family. I can’t imagine our house without him now. He’s definitely not just a pet anymore; he’s family. It’s funny how sometimes the best things happen when you least expect them.