"It is odd that, notwithstanding the extreme beauty of cats, their elegance of motion, the variety and intensity of their color, they should be so
little painted by considerable artists." ~ Philip Gilbert Hamerton
Each of the following stories is copyright by the respective authors.
Submitted February 6, 2000:
Hi Susie,
I had to tell you about the latest going on around here. His name is Leo.
I have been thinking about getting a Ragdoll kitten for some time now. Well, it is just not to be. The story:
Early last week my son came in the house very upset. He began to tell me that I had to come help this poor cat that was all beat up and hurt. I followed him to a mangy looking creature with huge gouges on his head and
face, burrs in his coat and a few big bald bloody spots on his body. When I saw him lift his head to touch it to my son's hand, I knew that I would have to do something. We brought him home, I doctored his "owies" and cleaned him up a bit. He began to look more like a cat than a refugee.
After some water, some food and a long nap, he went to the door and began to meow. I realized that I did not have the right to hold him in my house, and so I let him out. We worried about him all night and all the next day.
At about the same time as the previous meeting, he showed up at the gate the next night. We again fed, doctored and gave him a nice place to nap. Like the night before, he let us know when he was ready to go "home" and this was repeated up until Sunday. (Each night we were worrying sick about whether he was okay.)
The gouges et all are healing and he is such a sweet, sweet cat. Every time the cat visited, he stayed longer and longer and the visits were more frequent through the day. Sunday I made him stay once he showed up as I had an appointment with the vets for a good check-up, shots and neutering.
Sunday was also spent looking for the owner or any information we could come up with. (There have been no ads in the paper and I personally have a problem with anyone that won't spend a couple of bucks to place an ad...to
me it shows they don't care). We discovered where he has been living...in a field in a bush. We may have learned from some kids where the gouges came from.
They say a man was seen hitting the cat with a stick. They asked him why he was hitting the cat. Apparently the man stated that he gave the cat to his girlfriend who just left him saying she hated the cat and him (the man). It would appear that the man was going to "get even" by killing the cat. While the guy was explaining this to the children, the cat ran off. As confirmed by the vet today, there is one large wound on the top of
his head that came from a blow. This could have been the result of a car, but I feel pretty sure that there was in fact, a jerk that actually hit him.
I asked the kids to show me where the man lived and they said they did not remember. I did not know if this is because they were afraid of getting involved or if they were fabricating the story.
He is home safely in my son's room as I write this. A little groggy, a bit potent in smell (which I have been informed will last for about another 30 days until the hormones are out of his body), but as beautiful as ever. He tested negative on all his kitty tests (yeah). I have also decided that he WILL be a house kitty (I hope he does not go crazy)! He learned to use the litterbox in one night; I take that as a good sign.
I am going to do my best to convince the children to tell me where the man lives. I must do something besides hoping that this man rots in hell. It was suggested to me that I explain to the children that bad people that
hit animals eventually may move on to children, and that I do not want this bad man to hit another animal or be given the opportunity to hit a child. And while I have several friends that would be more than happy to
execute revenge for Leo, I pray that the legal system will prevail.
I would like to show you some pictures of Leo the Liberated, when you have time, please go to: Katt Leo.
Thanks! Vonnie Matheny
Who says pets don't have souls? They take a part of ours when they leave.
Submitted February 11, 2000:
Well, the total "inside" cats at the Moore/Miller household now numbers 7. I took Birm (named for his Birman coloring, though the vet and everybody else says he is a Siamese) to the vet's a few weeks ago to be tested for diseases (was concerned because we'd had our MomCatII, one of the feral colony, put to sleep because she was dying of leuk). Birm tested negative for anything, so we had him fixed, had some teeth pulled, and got him all his shots.
Then we moved him into the house, pretty much into the bathroom - we originally quarantined him in there, now he thinks it's his room.
This worked fine - he's a sweet, even-tempered old boy (probably 9-10 years). His modus operandi is to just ... lay there. Literally, he almost became part of the bathroom rug. In fact, Bob said we could have
saved the vet bill by just buying a plush cat and putting him on the rug.
Unfortunately, it didn't take too long to discover that he was coming out of the bathroom - to go to the bathroom. Could
NOT persuade him to use the litterbox. I mean, the litterbox is right there in the
bathroom, plus there's one in the hallway just outside the bathroom door. Nope - he likes rugs. Specifically, low-weave rugs that are pretty expensive. I tried for days to convince him. Didn't work. So I put him back outside.
Two days later, he's back inside. Two days later, he's back outside - this goes on for about 3 weeks. Used to be he'd go to the door and
WANT to go outside. Now if Bob opens the kitchen door for him (if he's inside), he'll head off toward the bathroom.
So, I did the only logical, only-a-cat-person thing to do: got a green rug (looks like grass, ya see) and put it in the bathtub. Voila - Birm's litterbox.
Mind, I'm not thrilled with this arrangement. It makes showering pretty damned inconvenient, not to mention the whole
IDEA of it. But, what's a person to do... (sigh). At least he doesn't spray anymore, now that he's been fixed.
And he actually loves to be picked up and cuddled ... If he's in the bathroom when either of us people go in there, he'll usually stand up and make this little squeaky "hi" sound, then give that "please pet me" look.
He has to go back to the vet, though - has got something wrong with his mouth (yelps when he yawns) and drools a lot. Also need to have the vet give him a shot for earmites (have nifty vial of earmite medicine for the rest of the cats - put off doing it because I hadn't made up my mind about Birm.)
Glenda Moore -
Our Place
| Table of Contents | HOME |
Visit our message board for serious information gathering and decimination regarding animal health, advocacy, and rescue - cats, dogs, wildlife, and so much more. You will have to register, but it's FREE. We hope you will join us.
