Cats, more like people than I'd like to admit...

Cats are just like children sometimes… This was a toy that my cats loved to play with when they were younger and much smaller. It had been on the sun porch aka 'kitty quarters' un played with for a year. I removed it from the kitty quarters and I set it on the living room rug near the door, to remind me to give it to my neighbor's cat. My neighbor had adopted the petite, now one year old, black, sweet, stray that had come into my yard in March.  I had taken the, what appeared to be a 4-5 month old, kitten to the vet to see if it had a 'chip' so that I could see if I could find her owner.   Even the vet thought that she was only 4-5 months old- based on size. Imagine, our surprise to find out that her teeth said that she was 8 months old at the time and pregnant.   I paid for her spay and vaccines so that I could have a better chance of finding her a new home.   Other methods to find her owner had not worked out. I'm happy to say that my neighbor adopted her and she has proven me to be right- that she is indeed a sweet, smart kitty.  I thought that she would like to play with the unused toy. (she does) Well, as soon as I put, the unused toy, in the living room, in a different place, from where it had been ignored for over a year… both of my cats came over to play on with it. However, Henry got nostalgic and he also seemed so sad, when he sat on it like he used to do and he realized that he was NOW TOO BIG to make the ball go around ‘WHILE’ sitting on it like he used to when he was smaller. I guess that cats can sometimes be just like children, when you get their old toys out, to give them away, suddenly they want to play with the outgrown toys again.

My 'foster' cats...

I don't get to have any pets where I live...  so, my USA friends that have pets are well loved by me whenever I get to see them.  This is 'Dovie' (she's gray like a dove) actually belongs to my friend's next door neighbors- but, she likes to hang out at my friend's house instead.   She is sweet, doesn't roam far, but only likes to be petted just the right amount... (as in:  not much)  However, she will lay down on the grass and meow exposing her belly in a 'oh, please, please, please pet me now' message.  *She doesn't really mean it though.

I've got a scratch just right there...  If I bend just a certain way... I'm sure I can get to it??    Dovie (girl) and Tom (boy) are great 'cat friends'...

This is "TOM, the CAT"... he loves me and I love him.   He was the cat that I rescued a few years ago.   My friend adopted him, got him 'fixed' and he is happy to have a home of his own.  His sweet nature meant that he just wasn't meant to live on the streets.  He still remembers me each time he sees me- which will be a year between visits.

 "Maybe if I act all cool like... she'll notice me and give me kitty pets?"   *He loves to be petted and purrs his thanks loudly.


If you look under the blog entry for: http://iwouldratherbeknitting.blogspot.it/2013/04/my-summer-foster-cat.html you can read more about TOM.

My Summer Foster Cat

The night before I was to fly back to Germany, two summers ago, a stray Tom Cat decided that he knew just exactly where he should go to get some help.   To my friend's yard... knowing that I would find him.   We had been gone all day long; doing the last round of shopping/errands before I was to leave the next day.   We got home about 4:00.   As I was unloading my stuff from my friend's car... I could hear a 'pitiful low meowing' but, I couldn't figure out where it was coming from.   I finally spotted this gray tabby cat, hiding behind a bench in front of my friend's house.  This cat had been in her yard once several days earlier.


I leaned down and started talking to him and noticed that he was injured.  His head was all swollen out of shape right over his eye and all the way back from his forehead to the back of his head.   I could tell that he'd been in a fight and that the wound had probably sealed shut and the large swollen area was likely infected.


I got the cat and begged my friend, Annesia to drive us to the Vet's office; I told her that I'd pay for his care- but, that I could tell that he really needed some help.   So, off we go... their office was closing in 30 minutes and we were told to just wait in the lobby.   So, there I was with this 'stray' full-grown Tom Cat, that I had only seen once, wrapped up in a towel so that I could help hold and control him.  I kept talking softly to him... especially since this was clearly his first visit to a Vet's office.   Wouldn't you know it; not one but 3 very large dogs came into the waiting room too.  I kept the cat's eyes away from the huge dogs that were only inches away.


Finally, it was our turn.   The vet was short-handed and I had to hold the cat down while the Vet cut his 'swollen infected' area open to let the infection drain.   Of course this was pretty traumatic for the cat; but, somehow he knew that we were trying to help him and he didn't try to bite or scratch us.   The Vet told me that if I hadn't brought him in; that he would have been dead within a couple of days.  He was given a shot and some meds to help fight the infection.


So, we brought 'Tom the cat' into my friend's hot garage and set up a couple of fans to help circulate the air.   I made the cat a scrambled egg.  I figured he needed a little pampering after his ordeal.  My friend didn't want him in her house; especially since he was an injured stray cat.   I checked on him several times and he was laying down on an old soft cat bed that we found in the garage.


This cat was such a sweet cat and clearly not meant to live the life of a 'stray' male Tom Cat.  He was not a fighting type of cat.  My friend decided to keep him and paid for his neuter 'surgery'... he still lives outside.


He still remembers me when I go to visit my friend in the summer.  I think he knows that I was the one that saved his life and helped him find a good, safe place to live.   I can't have pets in my overseas homes and it's kind of nice to get to have a 'summer time' pet.

The first photo is Tom after 2 years.  He's filled out and has grown a lot since the summer that I helped him out.   He looks a lot healthier, doesn't he?

Tom says, "Isn't it time to brush me... ???"    This was after 1 year after his rescue.  

Oh boy, there comes "iwouldratherbeknitting'... I know she'll pet me!   This was one year later.