Awwwwww poor Arwen :'(
I consider you
both very fortunate to have found each other Ed!
Thea has a sad history too ...
We were on our way up to to see my parents across town and happened to call at one of the shops which we wouldn't normally bother with. In front of these shops is a grassy area with swings and seats for the local kids and whilst walking back to the car from going into one of the shops, I noticed a group of children huddled around something ... something small ... and black ... and furry. I hadn't been looking for another cat as I had two at home already (both gone now ... sadly :'() ... and I saw this scraggy little bundle of fluff.
I went over to see what the fuss was all about, stroked this tiny kitten and then walked away. A scruffy Irish kid (don't know where she lived or anything) came over and begged me .... yes,
begged me to "please take this little kitten as I swear to God the other kids will kill it!"
She went on to tell me the other kids had been throwing stones and hard mud at her and she knew this little kitten wouldn't survive for very long.
I was horrified and appalled and
very angry!
I went over, scooped her up and walked back to the car with her. The three of us continued our journey to my parents and I went inside with her. Phil (my partner) was sent off with Adam (my son, then aged two) to go and buy some kitten food for her! LOL
My Mum was aghast as she thought I'd brought this kitten for
her to keep .. hehehe .... I'd grown up with cats and they hadn't got one then ..... so I sat with her cuddled on my knee where she sat purring her little head off!
Poor little thing was covered in fleas and had worms and at some stage she'd had her tail broken as there's a small 'bump' where it's healed which you can feel. I took her to the vets were she was examined thoroughly and I got everything I needed to get rid of the pests she'd picked up. I also arranged for her to be spayed at a later date, and as all of my cats stayed indoors there wasn't the chance of her getting caught by the local tomcats doing the rounds! LOL
She wasn't old enough really to be away from her mother you could see and to this day she still 'nurses' my t-shirts and jumpers as though she were a kitten.
She was also one very frightened, very timid cat and she's still wary of strangers (she still spits at my sister-in-law who is absolutely potty about ALL animals and can't understand why she can't get near her!
)
She must've survived on fast food which she scavanged from shops near to where I found her and she likes nothing better than to eat chips and fish and spaghetti bolognese sauce (home-made) if I'd let her! LOL Junk food addict!
So as far as I can tell, she's around nine years old and I've had her since she was tiny ~ she's grown into a lovely little cat. Whilst the other two were alive she was more subdued and I think there was an element of cat-bullying going on ... not much I could do about except leave them to get on with it. Once the oldest cat (Beepie) died last year then she relaxed as she slowly realised that she now has no competition to get attention from the three of us. As a result, she lies across my neck at night like a warm furry scarf, and flops over my arms when I'm trying to type at the computer (that's
my excuse for the typos!
) and is basically ...'Top Cat'!
I'll post pix of my much loved and sadly missed cats for you see Ed ... Phil thinks I'm sad in that I'm always talking to strange cats walking up to school, when I'm up at his parent's house .... anywhere really.
I just don't care ~ I adore cats and always will!
