Rattle a carrier door and instantly we are a non-cat house. Not a cat to be seen.
But no, that’s not quite right, because there’s Lily…
Lily is always up for an adventure.
We’ll get all set up, with the carrier door open for the quick shoving-in of whoever the unlucky pet may be, and then are likely to discover the carrier is already occupied.
More than once we’ve had to tip Lily out.
So, we have a cat that volunteers to enter a carrier and a cat that reminds me to administer her medication.
And now we have an extraordinary cat that agrees to wear a collar. True, she wasn’t offered a choice.
In the past, however, cats and collars never stayed attached beyond the first five minutes.
No matter what the vet may have said.
Blackie’s collar comes off tomorrow when her stitches will be removed. No doubt she will be delighted, but it has been very touching to see her carry on in her normal way, making adjustments as necessary when the collar got in the way. No fuss. No complaints.
She deserves a gold star.
Our other black cat, Penny, was at the vet again this morning. Hopefully an antibiotic will set her straight. She is prone to urinary tract problems.
Penny is probably our oldest cat. She was elderly when she came to us five years ago, so now she is antique.
Due to lack of space and the realization that my foster cats were all old, or sick, or both and unlikely to find homes, I had to shut down my website and refuse all further intakes. It was very difficult, but I had seen what it was like when a home becomes over-crowded with animals.
People can be well-meaning, but animals deserve better than to live that way.
The “foster suite” that Grant had helped me to construct was a great temporary home for down-on-their-luck cats. It was not that easy to place even young, healthy cats, but somehow I found homes for quite a few.
(This is Grayson.)
Grayson and dear little Gus got a home together.
My huge basement was a blank canvas for Grant who framed two big rooms that had a communicating tunnel.
Cats like to be up high, so the walls were festooned with shelves and cubby-holes.
Beds and blankets…my laundry room was going around the clock sometimes.
(Gus and Piero)
Piero was something of a challenge.
A friend asked if I could take a cat she knew of that had been living outdoors and was being bullied by neighborhood brats.
The owner was happy to give him up because he was “a bit bitey.”
The “rescuer” came around to my place and quickly left, as I tried to deal with a very handsome and fluffy creature that quickly shredded my clothes and any part of me that he could reach.
Whatever name he had been given, to me he was obviously Piero. The poor cat had been tormented. Why would he not scratch and bite?
It took a while for Piero to calm down and he was with us when Lily arrived, barely more than a kitten.
At the time, my foster population was mostly male. The other female was a rather feisty girl called Emily.
Lily looked at me with those big eyes and I read her pleading: “Help?” So I took her upstairs to join Panther and company. Panther found room for one more.
Lily is now my senior cat and has herself become a bit “Pantherish”, which is a fine way for a cat to be.
With time and care, Piero stopped scratching and biting, but he was always going to have energy to burn. He could perform the most amazing somersaults as if he had a spring in his butt.
He was very entertaining and we missed him terribly when he got a home with a veteran. A nice young man who had been injured in the Middle East.
They seemed good together.
…meanwhile….
Lily no longer looked overwhelmed!
And she found some new friends
.
The adoption of Gus and Grayson led us to the most beautiful and sweet first Willow.
And it was Willow who was re-abandoned with Penny and Sikkim.
When you seek homes for animals, you do everything you can to ensure they will be safe and happy.
The people who took Willow seemed besotted with her.
So was I. She came upstairs because I wanted so badly to keep her, but one more had been just too much for the dynamics. Even Panther rolled his eyes.
Situations can change, for any number of reasons and we urged anyone adopting from us to bring the cat back. No questions asked. What more could we do?
Because Willow was chipped, we were called when she was re-rescued and it goes without saying that we were never going to take her and leave the other two.
We don’t know why she died thirteen days after we brought her home. She appeared not to have suffered, but it was a hard loss. Maybe it was her purpose to guide these others to us, and we love them both dearly.
Just months later, I upset the apple cart completely by moving all of us to the other coast and we established an active account with our new vet.
Sikkim was soon diagnosed with painful bladder stones that had to be removed.
Penny had been called “Ninja” and we were told she was aggressive. Elderly, aggressive black cats do not survive long in shelters. A wicked shame that would have been.
We immediately found her to be a good-natured and very sweet cat. She happened to be suffering quite badly with arthritic back legs. Anytime someone lifted her, unaware of her problem, it would have caused her pain. Hence the so-called aggression.
Penny doesn’t need to worry about her sore legs anymore. She took one look at Grant, with her soft green eyes and he was bewitched.
When she requires transport, she just asks. Seriously!
Wonderful story of your both creating cat’s heaven, Carolyn!
Joanna
If I ever get abandoned can I come and live with you please?
Well sure, Peter!
No doubt about it… all the cats are very happy!
Your house is a paradise for cats.
I’m forming a queue behind Peter, and I think I can see more bloggers arriving behind me! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
You and Grant are an inspiration to all of us who love animals. I do so enjoy learning more about your lucky clowder of cats!
I’m fascinated to learn how each cat has their own personality … and to take each of them into consideration, is a tough task. But I guess when one love them as dearly as you, that’s not asking too much.
They are as individual as people. You cannot force anything on a cat. They will do what their mind tells them! And if you don’t like it, you’d better adjust! I had a beautiful cat given to me as a kitten. Only he didn’t want to live with me, so he arranged to live elsewhere. True story! He had a long, happy life, but not with me.