A Tail of two cats named Buddy

yeah, I know that's for the animal tail, not a tale.

The house behind mine is a rental.  Folks usually live there for at least a year, so we kind of get to know them over the fence.  A few months ago we noticed a new cat roaming our neighborhood.  She is a very pretty calico, very smart but pretty timid.  I assumed that she belonged to my next door neighbor as she hangs out there...but there is more to her story.
See Buddy (as she is known now because my neighbor didn't know that calicos are all female) used to live in the rental house behind us.  But when the renters moved out they left her and a bunch of their stuff behind for a month.  Leaving poor Buddy to fend for herself.  When they finally returned to get their things my neighbor asked if she belonged to them.  They "graciously" said that my neighbor could keep her.  My neighbor told them that he wouldn't give her back to someone who would abandon a pet.  She's a happy girl now and waits on the front porch to greet my neighbors when they come home.  She likes to hunt so we don't have any rabbits in our flowers this summer.  That's okay.

The second Buddy I just met today.  He is a very friendly boy.  And like Buddy the girl, he too was left behind.  Buddy is the resident cat at the new groomer that I took Lilly to today.  He doesn't quite get it that he is a cat, so he gets along with the dogs just fine.  Even Lilly who normally chases cats got along well with him (she ignored him!)  Buddy's story is that his former owners asked the groomer to cat sit for them while they were gone.  It was supposed to be just a month.  Buddy has been at the groomer's for 4 years now...and it is his home.

For every Buddy who has found a new forever home out there, there are too many others who aren't so lucky.  Pets give unconditional love to anyone who treats them well.  Don't abandon your Buddy!