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One summer morning after a day of a family get together with in and out traffic, I realized something very important was missing. That something was my black cat Ninja.

It became clear he wasn't just avoiding extra company then. He was gone. I looked up and down, called every person that came to see if they saw a little black cat or if he happened to jump in any truck bed, looked all over and made an online plea. I checked shelters and the rescues.

Every day, my heart sunk more. Weeks passed and then months. In a last hope effort, we went to check a humane society an improbable distance away, and while there was no shortage of black cats, my Ninja was not one of them.

The cages were full of such sad faces, all as lost and desperate as me. Kitting season was around the corner. Soon there would be free kittens at every corner and not much hope of someone coming for a cat. It was then I decided it was time. I would always love my Ninja and he would always have a place if he ever came home, but I couldn't linger on the pain anymore.

I did not want to make a decision based on looks, so one by one, I took each cat out to interact with them.

I spent time with cat after cat, but again and again, there was just no spark. Hours passed, and finally there was just one cat left: a small tabby with a small scar on her nose. Compared to the brilliant markings and/or eyes of many of the others, she was quite plain and unimpressive to look at.

As I took her out, she rolled over in my arms purring, and she licked me. She eagerly begged for belly rubs and licked my husband with equal gusto. There it was! The spark I waited for. She'd been there for half of her two years of life and even had no name. Just a cage labeled DD.

The little cat in DD became my sweet D.D. ever since.

Story submitted by Victoria Midkiff from Leesville, Louisiana.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!