It all began on June 29, 2012. Brian was traveling for work, and I was still recovering from my first ear surgery. I looked out our kitchen window and saw about 8 cats, 2 of them being sweet little babies. The babies were too small to be away from their momma, and I just assumed that one of the other cats was their momma. That night I went and put some tuna fish on a plate and the two babies gobbled it up within seconds. The next morning the cats were back, and hungry. So again I put some more tuna fish out and again the other cats let the babies eat it. At this point I figured someone had dropped off these babies at our house since you know, we lived on a farm and of course we needed 10 cats. For several days I put out food or scraps for the kitties, and each day more and more cats showed up. I think the most I counted was over 15. Then one morning a third baby showed up, and the next morning a forth baby showed up.
By this time my heart belonged to the first two babies which I had named “Annie and Avery” so when the other two babies arrived of course they must have names! So I named baby #3 “Addie” and let Brian name baby #4….he named it “Ah-whitie” lol… the coloring on this cat was so cute – it was all gray – except it’s face – it looked like it had gotten into flour.
A few days later I woke up to find ALL of the cats gone – nobody wanted breakfast (and by this time they would all come running when I called – they knew it was food time) So that afternoon I went looking in the barns out back and found Annie & Avery and brought them back to the house and fed them. That night all the cats came back for food. The next day it happened again, all the cats were gone, all except Annie. She had stuck around this time. I went looking for Avery, but never found her. That night none of the cats showed up and we didn’t see them again until September or October. Annie continued to stick around. So we figured that she had adopted us. Of course, I was fine with that. We never saw Avery again.
Towards the end of July we had a decision to make, we were going out of town and knew that if we left her outside a hawk would get her, so if we were going to keep her, we would need to bring her inside the house. So we did. She went right to the liter pan and knew exactly what to do, I didn’t even show her! She did fantastic that first trip we were gone, and was so happy to see us when we got home.
At first we had her sleeping in a separate room with her litter box, since she couldn’t climb the stairs very well, and our bedroom was in the basement. But eventually she was able to do the stairs like nobody’s business and was able to jump into bed with us. Since then she has taken up residence in our bed, and if our door should get shut, she will sit outside the door and cry and whine until we let her in.
When we found out that we would be moving from Iowa to Texas we decided to get her spayed and get her front claws removed. This was a hard decision for me since I had read that sometimes de-clawing a cat could make them mean – thankfully it didn’t change Annies personality one bit.
This picture was taken while she was taking it easy after surgery. She also loves that ugly little toy she’s holding….we call it her baby.
Like I said earlier, the other cats ended up coming back in the fall – Annie LOVED to watch them out the window, but wanted NOTHING to do with them.
I had wished that I could catch this cat – the markings on her/him were SO beautiful – but sadly it was too scared of me.
This next picture was taken while the movers were packing our belongings. She had a hard time with them being in the house and was scared to death most of the time. She was ok as long as she was sitting on my lap or nearby.
During the move to Texas she was a trooper in the car. We found that she HATED her carrier with a passion. So I ended up getting her a harness and a leash and during the drive I hooked her up to the back seat, but she could just get far enough in the car to lay by the gear shift and my leg – and then she was fine, and would sleep the entire time.
When we got to our current home (a rental) we didn’t have any of our furniture – she loved it. She ran from room to room exploring. And of course she LOVED helping us to unpack!
With a new home we gave her a new litter box – the toilet in our guest bathroom. We bought a large bowl and pushed it down into the toilet and filled it with litter – again, she picked it up right away – I got excited. Well with the Christmas holidays and friends & family visiting us we went back to the litter box. But after our lasts guests left in March we ended up buying the “Litter Kwitter” system. They say your cat can be toilet trained in 8 weeks. Well it’s taking a little longer for Annie, but she’s getting it. Last night she officially went into the TOILET WATER for the first time. I couldn’t have been more proud! Hopefully by the end of the summer we will be done with litter for good!
Annie isn’t one of those cats that curls up on your lap or next to you – she is much more independent, and sometimes acts like a dog. She plays fetch, and loves any mouse that has catnip in it. She hasn’t found a bag or a box that she hasn’t fallen in love with.
And for some weird reason she loves her “daddy’s” Slippers and shoes….eww….
She also loves hiding in the couch….
She REALLY loves her tree that “daddy” built her
Just recently she’s been attacking bugs. She caught a fly the other day and ended up eating it….eww… but last night she ended up catching one of those HUGE mosquitoes and held it down until I came and killed it – so maybe she’ll be good for something!
I feel like sometimes she has eased the pain a little bit of not having a baby in my arms. she is such a good little companion for me. She really does follow me from room to room all day long. Even to the point of sitting on the edge of the tub while I shower. I know that God sent those kitties now – he knew how much I really needed a baby to take care of.
So thankful for this little critter….
Make it a GRATE Day!
Love, Christy
A Peculiar Kitchen 