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Title: Our new kitten *Mia*
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Published: Jul 7, 2011
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Post Date: 2011-07-07 23:57:44 by christine
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Views: 4008
Comments: 33
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#1. To: christine (#0)
She's adorable! At our house, there would be a lot of hissing and fur-flying if a new feline arrived. Old cats don't handle change very well.
they hit it off right away. we're so happy about that because Beau and Coty are closer than any two cats we've had before, including littermates, and we were afraid that would change.
How KYOOT! Of course it reminds me of a wild kitten whose ribs were showing that I impulsively snatched up while hunting years ago, you know, the one that sank her needle sharp fangs into my finger clear to the bone! My kids asked for a cat (somebody kill me please) this kitten was not faring well on a diet of grasshoppers (she was too small to catch birds or small mammals) and I quickly decided that we needed each other. She disagreed and tried to eat part of me instead. I roared in pain so loud that the kitten went limp, probably thinking that I was going to swallow her whole in retaliation. I flung her into the car and drove home, retrieving her from under the seat with a thick glove even though she had abandoned her alpha tiger predator mode. I put her in a cardboard box and after a few bites of tuna my 8 yr old daughter rescued her and the kitten's paws didn't touch the floor for the next six months. (I made my daughter happy and I suppose that was worth sharing my life with what was sure to become a G_d-cursed KAT!) I wrote about the whole adventure for OUTDOOR DELAWARE MAGAZINE, and I'm proud to boast that it received favorable feedback. I sat in the barber shop and anonymously watched people as they read it just to see them smile. I was particularly pleased for having written things like, "The good news is, no one got sick (from toxoplasmosis) the kitten put on weight and the excruciating pain in my finger began to dull after only a few short weeks!" Seeing your adorable kitties reminds me of how SonOfLiberty and others comforted me when I couldn't stop grieving over my cat about 7 years ago. And no other can replace the one that loved to roll in the marsh mud on my chest waders after a morning duck hunt. Perhaps it reminded her of her "wild and crazy like a hippie in San Francisco" days before I caught her. Pedigree Persian versus a worthless, wild, orange tabby. Who can resist kittens even though they grow to be....KATZ?
I live and work in a farming and ranching community in the panhandle of Texas. I have cats at the farm that keep the rodent population to a minimum. Most of my cats are the offspring of a very special little gray cat that I named mama after she had her first litter of eight kittens. Mama came to the farm 9 years ago as a kitten. We paid very little attention to her at all the first year but somehow she survived the winter and warmed up to me the first spring. This cat was the smartest and most loving creature I have ever known. I could go out to the farm at any given time and whistle for her and soon I'd see her head popping up through the tall grass and weeds or the deep snow as she ran towards me. She was tiny but she had the heart of a tiger. So many times as she aged, I'd be out there at the farm working on a piece of equipment and she'd show up and sit there to watch me or follow me to the shop when I needed parts or tools, never leaving me unless she was nursing kittens or until I finished and went home. Often I'd pull my tractor up to the fuel tank and sit in the tractor while it was filling. If the tractor door was open she'd jump all the way up the steps and jump into my lap to be petted. I had no idea that a cat could be such a devoted pet especially a wild cat. So many days I'd pull in to the shop at the end of the day tired and ready to go home only to be met by my buddy and we'd sit there for a little while and I'd pet her in my lap. I have never petted any of the other cats and probably wouldn't have become so attached to mama if she hadn't forced the issue - she was the one that initiated our friendship. Sometimes she'd jump into my car and inspect for food or just get petted - she really was an amazing cat. Sometimes this cat would come and get me, then get me to follow her either to show me her latest litter or most recent kill which usually was a pack rat or even a rabbit. I can't tell you how much I grew to love that cat and looked forward to seeing her every day but alas, a racoon killed her and several of her latest litter about a week ago. 9 years is a long time for an outdoor cat to live and I knew someday mama would no longer be around, but what I wasn't ready for was the emotions that I would feel over losing her. (I'm actually having a hard time writing this). The day I whistled and called her name and she didn't show up I knew she was gone but not the reason for it. I had an idea because I'd lost several other cats but wasn't sure until early one morning about two days after she went missing a racoon darted out in front of my car and I hit the brakes thinking it was one of the cats until I got a better look. That night I sat out at the farm in the dark hoping to shoot the coon without any luck. So I got a trap and the first night using sardines as bait - I caught a tom cat that I had never seen before. So I released it. The following day the hardware store guy said I should use an egg as bait. Well to make a long story short I caught two coons and shot them both and when I finish with this post I'll go check the trap for any more coons that may have stopped by for a little dinner. Two of mama's last litter survived and I brought one home and left one at the farm. There are other cats there and it is possible that other offspring did survive and are being raised by another mama cat as I've seen another kitten that looks just like the one I brought home being nursed. The kitten in the picture looks like the one I brought home. We already had a calico and I'd never thought of having two cats because our place is small, but this new addition is transitioning well with our other cat and it's pretty cute to watch them play together. The newest addition disappeared for a day and caused us to turn the place upside down trying to locate "it" (we're not certain of the gender yet). Finally, a faint meow ... and after searching again - I found the kitten in my top dresser drawer without any explanation for "how" this could occur. If it's a she - her name will be "Heidi" !
awwwwww....that's so sad. i'm so glad you were so good to her and she had a great life because of it. the kitten in the picture you posted is a blue point himalayan. that's what my beloved Oliver was.
She usually started and ended my day - I miss her. (Thanks for the nice comment). The new addition is playful and cute ! Again, Happy Birthday - and thanks for 4UM !
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#4. To: ratcat (#1)
#13. To: christine, SonOfLiberty (#4)
MIA!
#17. To: HOUNDDAWG (#13)
(Edited)
#26. To: noone222 (#17)
The day I whistled and called her name and she didn't show up I knew she was gone but not the reason for it.
#32. To: christine (#26)
awwwwww....that's so sad. i'm so glad you were so good to her and she had a great life because of it.
Replies to Comment # 32.