Tuesday, October 4, 2016

SAGA OF THE CATS

Several bloggers have recently written about their pets, including Ron and Jimmy  - which was the inspiration for this post. 

I initially never wanted three cats. One was plenty. I got my eldest cat Scratch from the Odessa, TX animal shelter in September, 2005. She was three months old, completely adorable, and turned out to be the perfect pet.  

I named her Scratch because - like all cats- she enjoyed scratching the hell out of everything. My Mom called her Kitzee - which is actually more appropriate, and that's the name she answers to. 


 Scratch (Kitzee) about 4 months old (above) and in later years (right). She is now eleven years old.




Let's condense the story and Fast-Forward to about six years later.

I'm living in a tiny West Texas town in the middle of nowhere (far from Odessa). One of my neighbors is a sweet little old lady in her 80's who loves cats. She has at least twelve of them. Her cats never bothered me and I seldom paid attention to them.

Suddenly -
One day the old lady decided to move away. It was a completely unexpected maneuver. Her son lived in another Texas town and she wanted to be near him. I was actually sorry to see her go.

I waved bye-bye to her and her cats (I presumed) as the moving van pulled away.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that she had abandoned all of her cats!
Imagine my SHOCK when the twelve hungry feline orphans migrated to my yard. I started feeding them out of pity...and that's when the nightmare began.

All the cats permanently moved into my back yard....and began rapidly multiplying. I eventually had over twenty cats and numerous litters.

The Feline Ordeal (capitalized for emphasis) couldn't have come at a worse time in my life. My mother had recently died - which has caused me to spiral into a profoundly deep depression. I was trying to sell my house, with the aid of a worthless, incompetent realtor. Several of my neighbors were drug dealers. I was in a financial crises and under enormous stress.

I was trapped in a remote Texas town - smothered under an avalanche of problems - - and unwittingly became the caretaker of an army of cats. The nearest legitimate animal shelter was over fifty miles away. 
The local so-called "animal control" facility had recently been cited for animal cruelty and gross violation of laws. The man in charge informed me that any cats turned over to them would immediately be killed.

There was no way in hell I would ever let a cat be killed. This story is so long and intricate that it's impossible to tell all of it here. I will say that I built shelters for the cats so they wouldn't freeze in the winter. I tended sick and injured cats. I weaned kittens and kept the weakest indoors until I could nurse them back to health. I dealt with the horror of having several cats attacked and killed by wild animals.

I spent an enormous amount of money on cat food and medications - and there were numerous times when I skipped meals myself in order to feed the cats. 

It took an incredible amount of time and effort for me to find suitable homes for some of the adult cats. Fortunately, I managed to find good homes for nearly all of the kittens. And when I FINALLY moved (several years later), the lady who bought my house took a few of the remaining cats.

I presently have three cats - Scratch, Bosco, and Scruffy. 

Bosco and Scruffy were from two of the Texas litters. They had the same father but different mothers. And they were both born in the spring of 2014.

They were also both extremely sick kittens and I didn't expect either of them to live. I brought them into the house and nursed them back to reasonable health. I also fell in love with them and decided to keep them.

I actually rescued Bosco from a flood. There was a torrential downpour one night and my yard was completely flooded. I went outside at midnight to check on the cats and discovered that three kittens had been swept away. I rescued them and Bosco was nearly dead. It took weeks for him to recover.

 These are the three kittens, just minutes after I rescued them from the flood. Bosco is in the middle.

Bosco was scrawny and very sick for a long time.

Bosco, now two and a half years old, is huge and heavy. He still has some health issues but is doing okay. He sleeps on my bed every night. 

Scruffy was the runt of another litter and very weak. Much like Bosco, I didn't expect her to live. I brought them both into the house and nursed them together. 

 Scruffy is the smallest kitten on the far right. The calico Mama is looking at her brood.

 
 Scruffy is still quite small but healthy. She purrs constantly - I've never heard a cat purr as much as she does.
BTW - I named her Scruffy because she looked kinda scruffy and I initially thought she was a male.

My cat Scratch was never exactly pleased that Bosco and Scruffy joined our household, but she politely tolerates them - - and occasionally lets them know that she's the boss.

 Scratch is Texas tough

Note - I wrote this post very quickly and it's rather haphazard. Two more thoughts:
1. Anyone who abandons animals should be shot, even sweet little old ladies.
2. SPAY and NEUTER!!
 

30 comments:

  1. your kitties look quite contented. all mine have been rescue cats.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are quite content. I think the biggest trauma for them was moving from TX to TN.
      They were Cowboy Cats. Now they're Hillbilly Cats.

      Delete
  2. Phil (my ghetto cat and exceptional child) would kill any animal brought into the house, so you are lucky with Scratch. Do you ever have any tiffs amongst the three? I now understand why you wear denim pants and boots. Your legs could like a road map of Tennessee from scars left by scratches.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fortunately, my cats have never had any riffs. Scratch is definitely not pleased at sharing the spotlight with Bosco & Scruffy, but she "tolerates" them. Once in awhile she will make attempts at playing with them - and other times she'll growl - but never any violence.

      I've endured MANY cat scratches in my time....

      Delete
  3. Jon,
    A wonderful post. Heartwarming. Bless you for saving all those cats and finding homes for them.
    Ron

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not always easy living with three cats, Ron, but the rewards outweigh the negatives. I do hope that someday you'll have a pet again (cat or dog? Or both???).

      Delete
    2. Probably both Jon. Especially a cat or two, I won't go the way Larry's family went with a dozen or more cats.
      Ron

      Delete
  4. Jon,

    Thank you for caring about all these cats. Maybe I should do a piece on our cats and join the others who have. Be a nice diversion from writing about my adventures with the healthcare industry on my Curmudgeon Row Blog.

    Larry

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd enjoy hearing the saga of your felines, Larry!

      Delete
  5. Oh, my heart goes out to those poor cats!! Abandoned like that--poor things. I wouldn't want them killed, either, and would have been struggling along to try to keep them alive, as you did. I also have a penchant for the runts and sickly critters. They are blessed to have you--and you them. :) :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Caring for over twenty cats (and their litters) was one of the most demanding things I've ever done - but I don't regret it. There's no way I'd want to see any animal suffer.

      Delete
  6. The kindness and compassion which you've given to these animals speaks volumes about the goodness of your character. Thank you so much for caring about the welfare of all those cats. May your lucky trio continue to keep you in good company.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've always had enormous compassion for anyone suffering - whether it be humans or animals. I'm glad I was able to do something for those abandoned cats.

      My trio of felines has certainly brightened my life.

      Delete
  7. My goodness! What a lot of caring and kindness this post shows, JOn. Those cats are lucky indeed to have landed up with you. I'm a bit shocked at the old lady though. Maybe her son told her he would take her but not the cats. Still... what a thing to do!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was truly stunned when my neighbor deliberately left her cats behind. Her negligence caused a lot of trouble for me - but I have no regrets.

      Delete
  8. Wonderful finale, Jon!
    This post makes me want to run out and adopt a kitty .... except I'm pretty sure our pups would (inadvertently) try to kill it. Seriously, you humble me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spaying and neutering is extremely important to curtail the cat and dog population.
      And I would also endorse it for humans, too (you knew I'd say that, didn't you?)

      I don't think your sweet pups would appreciate a feline intruder...

      Delete
  9. Bless your heart. Don't be too hard on the lady though. If she was elderly and maybe sickly she may not have had a choice if her son was not a cat lover.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She was an extremely nice person. I don't know her reasoning for abandoning the cats, but it is very possible that her son had something to do with it.

      Delete
  10. If you think about, even though you think all of those cats came into your life at the worst time, maybe it was actually the best time. You were grieving, depressed, and introspective, and taking care of and caring about those cats brought you outside of yourself, if you know what I mean. They may have rescued you as much as you rescued them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know, Susan, that very thought has crossed my mind. The cat situation was traumatic and draining, but it channeled my frazzled thoughts into other areas. I concentrated on the plight of the cats rather than on myself.

      Delete
  11. Well, that was quite a lovely post and I have wondered about your cats backgrounds. I couldn't imagine that many cats though. Three is definitely more manageable. Most people assume I'm a cat person with my personality, but have only ever had dogs which I prefer. I did have only one cat. And she was a gem and a wonder cat. After her I went back to dogs again .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I've written about the history of my cats in the distant past, but I decided to rehash it for those who hadn't heard it before. I do like dogs a lot, but I'm more comfortable with cats - - they suit my personality (or what's left of it...).

      Delete
  12. Such a heartwarming post to know how your cats are being cared for. Scruffy is a tortoise shell, yes? They have a certain personality....very independent and vocal, I find. .....Attitude, for sure. Years ago we had taken in 8 cats and now after 20 years we have only one. I miss the kittens! God bless you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Someone had referred to Scruffy as a tortoise shell cat in the past, but I had completely forgotten about it. I'm glad you brought it up again. They DEFINITELY have a certain personality. Scruffy is extremely independent and feisty.

      As for kittens - I can't resist them! I was so tempted to keep them all - - but I'm glad I was able to find good homes for them.

      Delete
  13. You would love my post that is up now. So get your tightly jeaned butt over to my place where you belong. I have always gone to bat for the underdog, both human and animal. No one suffers alone if I'm around, and this insight into your life causes me to love you that much more.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm more lovable than most people think - - and I just visited your post.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a horrifying tale of all those cats being left behind by that 'sweet' old lady to fend for themselves, Jon, or to starve to death. How could anyone with genuine feelings for them have done that? Thank goodness you were around to at least give them a chance even though, through no fault of yours, it did get beyond your management, as it would anyone else.
    The rest of your tale was far more upbeat and comforting. I often wonder if some of us (luckier?) are born with a feature of the brain that just cannot bear to witness animals (for me, I do mean ALL animals) suffering - while others don't give it a second thought. I sometimes wonder if I'd prefer to have been one of these latter people whom it doesn't worry in the slightest, but I really don't think so. Even if it can be limiting to one's life I'd far rather be this way.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ray, I was actually shocked that she abandoned her cats - especially since she always fed and cared for them.
    Taking on the responsibility was extremely difficult for me but I have no regrets. I get VERY emotionally attached to animals - especially cats.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now I know (if I hadn't known before) that any superficially 'cruel' remarks you make about your pussies are very tongue-in-cheek - and for that, there's much relief at this end.

      Delete

I love comments. Go ahead and leave one - I won't bite. But make sure you have a rabies shot just in case.