Reprinted from

Lost and injured kitten played Rebecca Otto right into her heart

Wednesday August 5, 2009

It appears that a kitty has adopted State Auditor Rebecca Otto rather than the other way around.

Otto, husband Shawn and dog Lucy were taking their morning walk last week when "a little kitten jumped out of the woods and started running after us, which was kind of strange because I have a big dog. We tried to shoo it away, for a whole mile."

As they walked up the driveway "it kept trotting along like it was home." Otto said. "Got to the house and it was waiting to come in."

She saw it had an injury on its back, so they put the kitten in the garage with food, water and a litter box while they went to work. Shawn put up fliers, and Rebecca treated the back wound with warm water and peroxide. She has rescued enough animals to know this one seemed fine otherwise.

"It's still with us," Otto said Tuesday. "It's a cat possessed with a spirit that has done everything to convince us we need to keep it. It's the cutest thing, it's the sweetest thing. It works me [emotionally] every minute."

And it doesn't just work Otto. "This kitten will sit and pet the dog on its nose. Doesn't scratch it -- it pets the dog's nose and the dog is lovin' it. It's the weirdest thing, and nobody's called."

So they are keeping the male gray kitten with the cream undertones who may be called Stanley, pending a clean bill of health from the vet Wednesday.