Fortunately, Angelica had a pretty large circle of friends, and as she'd describe each day's uplifting progress or devastating disaster, her friends would smile with encouragement or weep along with her frustration. They were a very supportive bunch, and their kind, encouraging words helped give Angelica the strength to go on during the times she was ready to simply give up.

That tough little tom cat seemed to know every trick in the book designed to bring a mere human to her knees. He peed-- oh, how that cat could pee. Keep in mind this was a very small studio, and Angelica worked very hard to keep it clean and cozy for herself, Sasha, and Whimsey, the female "resident cat." But Sasha, poor guy, frustrated at not being allowed outside, protested in the only way he knew: He peed on the floor, peed on Angelica's bedding, and generally made a nuisance of himself. Poor Angelica spent a fortune at the laundromat, dragging her bedding in regularly to wash it, and I wish I'd owned stock in Febreeze, when Angelica discovered its cleaning power. Sasha's misdoings were taking their toll on Angelica, and many nights she only slept one or two hours, for worrying about that cat.

In utter frustration, Angelica would let Sasha go outside-- this, of course, was his goal. Then, for days, Angelica and her friends worried for fear Sasha would never come back. He was a tom cat, you see, and he loved doing things tom cats traditionally do-- seeking out female cats and rolling in alleys with other tom cat suitors. Cats can die this way, Angelica and her friends knew-- or get hit by cars, beaten by hoodlums; all kinds of terrors are possible on the "outside". Eventually, however, Sasha would drag himself back to his sanctuary, battered and torn, and Angelica would fuss over him, love and cuddle him, and take him back to the veterinarian one more time. The friends would rejoice along with her, until the next time...

Sasha went to the veterinarian to be neutered, and it was discovered that he was FIV+, a condition common to many "stray" cats. Another worry piled on the almost hopeless stack of worries. Since Sasha was having such a hard time making the transition from street cat to house cat, the veterinarian gave him a prescription of valium, to help calm him down until the last residue of testosterone left his system. There were a few good days, when it almost seemed as if all the worries were over, and Angelica and Sasha continued to bond. But a few days later, Angelica would waken to a bed wet with cat pee, and the rollercoaster ride would start all over again. Angelica was reaching the limit of her endurance, and Sasha was very unhappy because he couldn't go outside.