"Sasha, when I let him out, is gone for days, and comes back limping, and with scabs all over his body from fights he's gotten into. I don't think it is safe for him to be allowed out unless he's on someone's farm or ranch or huge, sheltered back yard."

"If anyone knows of a friend who would provide Sasha with a safe, loving home, please let me know. I do not want to give him to a shelter, non-kill or not."

"I am exhausted!"

Of course, before the day was out, Angelica had changed her mind and decided Sasha was worth "one more try". But the germ of an idea had been planted, and her friends were worried about her own health. They all agreed that no one alive could have tried harder than Angelica had, to make a home for this stubborn kitty. No one could ever have said that Angelica hadn't done everything possible to make an unworkable situation work-- her friends wouldn't hear it.

Angelica decided to get Sasha a harness and leash, in order to supervise his outings on the roof, in the hopes of satisfying his appetite for the outdoors. But little by little, she began to realize and accept that perhaps a studio apartment life wasn't the best for Sasha.

"What can I say?" she told her friends. "Sasha has strong feral instincts and behaviors, and to a certain extent, he has been very sweet in trying to adopt to the way of life that I want for him. But is that the best way of life for him? Will he be happy confined in a studio apartment? I doubt it. That's why I'm leaving the window open for him and Whimsey so that they can come and go at will. And I am definitely getting the "H" harness and leash to take Sasha for walks, and maybe even Whimsey, once Sasha's paw is ok."

The germ of an idea continued to grow, and while Angelica's friends commiserated with her when she was down, and celebrated when the day's news was good, one of her friends was growing her own germ of an idea.

This particular friend, whom we'll call "BC" lived some distance away from Angelica, in a very large house on over two acres in the middle of a desert. Now, BC had 18 cats of her own, and as another friend said later, adding one more to 18 is not as hard as adding one more to 2, when you're talking "cats". BC happened to have a heart as big as the desert where she lived, and it distressed her to no end to hear the heartbreak and frustration that Angelica and Sasha were both experiencing. One day, she just happened to mention privately to Angelica, that if the time ever came when she was ready to let Sasha go, she just happened to have space in her house and her heart for another cat. After all, 19 is not that many more than 18, right?

Well, that little germ of an idea just grew and grew, and finally the day came when Angelica was ready to announce to her friends that Sasha would be moving to a new home. Although she didn't tell them who was taking Sasha, or exactly where he was going, her friends were all excited and happy at the prospect of a new lease on life for both Sasha and Angelica.

Of course, it wasn't easy for Angelica. She and Sasha had bonded, and she had socialized him to the human touch-- not an easy job with an adult streetwise tom cat.

One day she told a friend, "Yes, it is hard to part with Sasha. I love him so much, I cannot find the words to express affection I have for him. But I know what you mean about your cat smiling when he was given access to the outdoors -- that is exactly how Sasha is. I gave him a hug just now to tell him how much I love him, and I am all choked with tears and sadness. I suppose I could go visit him occasionally, once he's settled in his new home, but right now, I am adjusting to the fact that he won't be with me much longer, and it is very hard."

"IF ONLY HE DIDN'T PEE ON MY BED ... I am full of 'ifs'. The reality is -- he needs a more supportive environment. And I believe that all that he needs in the way of human love and companionship, good food, warm beds, kittty companionship and good medical care will be provided him when he reaches his new home. Of course I will bawl my eyes out when he leaves, but it's for his highest good."