Our Cat Rescue - Cosette's Story

I know this may be a different kind of post from me, but it’s my sweet kitty baby’s birthday today and I thought I’d share her story! It’s so unique and I’ve been asked to share it before so I thought I’d lay it all out here. Cosette has affected our lives in such amazing ways and I’m so happy her story led her to us, so read on to see how we came to be cat parents! And you can definitely call me a crazy cat lady after this!!

Pre Parenthood

My boyfriend Taylor and I met on a dating app called Hinge in September of 2018. We were so excited to be together and we went on lots of dates around town but we decided it was time for our first official road trip! I’d always wanted to visit French Lick to see their word renowned hotel and do some hiking. You already know the first road trip as a couple is a major test so it was already going to be an interesting day. We spent the day sight seeing and getting outside, finishing the day with some amazing French Lick wine. It was a beautiful 80 degree day and we were loving spending time out and about. If you haven’t been to French Lick, I highly recommend it! I would love to go back when the stay at home order is lifted for sure. We were only 3 weeks into dating at this time so things were beginning to get serious and we were enjoying being together. Little did we know that our lives would change in just a few short hours…

Finding the Cheeper

We were on our way home back to Indy near dusk. Driving from French Lick to Indy, there are lots of back roads and gravel and it’s generally just farm land until you reach the city. Taylor saw something run across the road and since we almost hit it, we decided to stop. Out from the brambles and fields runs a teeny little cat!! She nuzzled into our hands and playfully bit us. There weren’t really any houses around we could’ve figured she came from and she had no collar, but seemed pretty clean for being outside. We sat on the side of the road for about an hour playing with her and trying to figure out what we should do. We chose to take her back to Indy and take her to the vet to see if she was microchipped the next day. The whole way home she wandered around the car like it wasn’t even moving and eating the only food we had, potato chips. She even chewed through my aux cord, so I should’ve taken this as a sign she was going to be a handful!

Next Steps

We took her to the vet and found out many things about our little side of the road baby! We actually first thought she was a boy but turns out she was definitely not. She was also around 2.5 pounds and approximately 5 months old. This was so hard to hear since cats are supposed to generally gain about a pound a month. The vet told us she wasn’t chipped and we ultimately took the right thing, especially since the weather had taken a turn for the worse the next few days with freezing rain. We can’t imagine what could have happened to her if we had just driven by a minute earlier or later. Things just really fell into place with her! I actually was pretty allergic to cats and had a bit of a detox period when we first had her, but my allergies pretty much have cleared up (to the point where we want another soon)!

Cosette the Cheeper

We decided on her name because we had just watched Les Miserables and felt she really identified with the character Cosette since she was an orphan and a little bit “French” (hey, French Lick counts, right?) so the name fit perfectly. However, she doesn’t really meow, she just kinda cheeps so we mostly just call her the Cheeper. For almost 2 years she has influenced our lives in numerous ways - it always is so exciting to come home and see her and it is actually really good for our mental health to have a little being that relies on us and needs us to take care of her. She also has helped Taylor and I grow our relationship, helping us make choices together and come to agreements on her behalf. It’s crazy that a teeny animal can do this, but it definitely makes sense. I know those who don’t have cats or dog lovers may not understand but Cosette has such a personality and heart and I can’t imagine how things would’ve been without her running across the road into our lives.

Even though we didn’t technically adopt Cosette, I would still love to support #adoptdontshop especially during this time. I know our next cat will for sure be adopted so in honor of Cosette’s birthday, I’ll be donating to Indy Humane and I encourage you to do the same! You can click this link to directly donate to them.