Once Upon A Time ~ Scardy a.k.a. Blackie's Story

Once upon a cat there was a time when this one was the most abused and sad barn cat I'd seen in some time. He was absolutely terrified of me and every cat on the colony! He'd run from everyone without hesitation. I could not come even remotely close to where he was or he'd be gone like a shot. Over a few months this summer, I won his confidence with food, talking to him, sitting close by and offering my hand so he'd realize that hands don't always hurt. Every barn cat was mean, if not cruel to him. For whatever the reason he wasn't accepted by any of them. He was hit, snarled at, hissed in his face, chased away, beat up and forced out of shelter in the worst kind of weather. Morning after morning, I'd find him hunkered down on my patio in what little shelter it gave and depending on the food and milk I provided.

In summer, I'd leave the patio door open so he could venture in. Once he was comfortable with that, I closed the door once on him and he, realizing that he couldn't get out ran from door to living room window smashing his nose to a bloody pulp on both before he calmed down enough to see that he was not going to be harmed. He stayed away for a few days after that but came back and this time I was able to approach and pet him. When I picked him up, he tucked himself into a protective ball so I made a point of holding and cuddling him until he became more relaxed with being handled. 

Today;

I rescued him from an existence
of abandonment and cruelty. Its amazing the change in him now that he was given a little help and shelter.  He is expressly an 'indoor' cat now that he has adopted us as his owners. My other cats still hiss and yowl at him, but he has the most gentle way of totally ignoring them!

 
Especially Sassy!

She's my SCREAMER! 
And none too pleased with any cat she feels does not belong.



I think it really annoys her the way he ignores her nastiness and goes about the house like its his home too, in spite of her opinions. He finally stopped the constant hiding a few months ago and pretty much acts like ~ he's home now! This past year has seen all but one kitten (she's too young) spayed and neutered on the dairy, including Blackie ~~ renamed from Scardy. Only lost two cats to a deadly cat virus; one of them, this grey one's brother...(whom I was very sorry to lose)

 
Now Blackie and he play together ~ first time Blackie's ever had a playmate and acceptance by another cat! 

Blackie's own brother, the only sibling I knew of that he had, was put down this fall because of the same deadly cat retrovirus that the grey one in this photo's, brother was put down for. They have something in common these too... they both lost there brothers to sickness. Now, they are best friends who horse around playing tag all over the house!! 

 So here he is, being a little sweetheart. Happy in the home he's been accepted into.

Catspaw

 

The Value and Importance of Adopting Rescue Cats Part One

I received an email from my cousin in Ontario, Canada and she has given her permission to share an important issue with you; Here is the first of her three stories:

'I thought I’d share a story with you about my cats. You can post this on you blog if you wish. Maybe this story will make someone think twice before they abandon that kitten or any animal and at least bring the animal to an Animal Shelter where it has a chance to survive and find a good home.'

I HAVE THREE BEAUTIFUL ‘RESCUE’ CATS

XENA: My Sweetheart

When I adopted her, I was told that someone had found a box of 4 kittens in the bush and brought them to the Shelter. The kittens went into foster care because they were so young and when they were old enough to be adopted, they landed back at the Humane Society.

I adopted Xena from the Humane Society in 2010 when she was just 6 weeks old. She is 3 years old now, spayed and has all her shots up - to date.

She is such a sweetheart who is so quiet, your lucky if you get a peep out of her throughout the day. She is very good natured. I am not sorry I adopted her.

Adopted from a Humane Society in 2010

Xena is not unlike the strays, throw-aways and colony cats here on the diary that I have rescued and re-homed. Tomorrow's story is about Sasha.

Catspaw  

!!! Scaredy Cat !!!

So far today ~ its only 9:23 am ~ I haven't heard anything but I thought I'd post anyway. 

The computer I'm using has very little ram so I can't download my Picture program or the pics I have on my camera but I can tell you about this one silly barn cat.

Black cat on fence post

This is not Scaredy! This cat looks far too sure of himself.

We call him Scaredy and for good reason. He's a black, half wild and half wanting to be babied barn cat who, the first time I had him in, freaked when I closed the door and went on a rampage running pellmell from living room window to patio door smashing his nose into a bloody pulp in the process as panic set in. He's quite recovered now, I'm happy to say and comes in only if I drag him in, then he's happy to be in. Right now he's sitting on the top part of the sofa where Sassy usually is ~ the second I move from my chair at the computer he's down and running toward me. He'll stay put as long as I don't move! 

I think he's been picked on by the other barn cats since he was a kitten because he's scared of them and my cats and very insecure about being round them if I'm not close by, but he has improved in that since I've been having him in. Used to be all he'd do is hide under the couch and never budge to come out, now he's on the sofa in plain view so he's improved that way. 

Handsome Cat!

On miserable weather days I have the barn cats in, those who want in, like today. He does have one sibling, a brother who is kind to him so he isn't completely bereft of friends. Emerald is doing her bit to keep the barn cats in line and reminding them just who's house this Really is! Her growing can be heard behind every stick of furniture I own!! 






Here is to getting that bloody computer back a second time and having it work for the rest of the year!

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

Sailor could not remember being a 'bad' cat. That's what the human population of this village called cats when they were misbehaving by human standards. This was the second day of a torrential rainstorm sucked in from the ocean; the fog had not receded but had instead, grown denser and colder as it sank to the cobblestones. Sailor lay unconscious in the splintering doorway of a house, dreaming once again of another village. This one always felt more familiar to him. The last time he had found himself here, Sailor had followed his feelings towards a castle high atop the hill. He had turned in the direction of one of the castle gateways and... if he remembered correctly, had heard something; the sound of trumpets and cheering people and now, the sense that he would truly be welcomed here; petted, played with and fed as a 'good' cat. Was this feeling to be trusted?

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

The day became indistinct and bleak as the fog sank over the village. Everywhere a single activity was being practiced by the residents who hastened to street shops that were being secured. Doors to houses were closing and windows banged shut. In the space of an hour the beautiful little fishing village became unrecognizable as a ghost town. The fog was accompanied with the dampness of the ocean and not long after its descent, everything was wet and cold. Sailor crouched as far inside the alcove of a doorway as he could manage, his fur was damp and he was chilled to the bone. He squatted there in misery. A sudden, loud crack of thunder burst above the town, so close that it made the quaint little buildings shake. Sailor instinctively jumped at the piercing noise and pressed himself further into the unyielding wooden door-frame for what little shelter it offered him. Excited voices could be heard from within as children were admonished to be silent and go to their school studies while the evening meal was prepared. Since he had come to this village, looking for belonging, Sailor had known little kindness from its occupants. Other cats were noticed, even fed sometimes or taken in on nights like this, but Sailor never was. He had come to expect harsh treatment from humans and he usually received it. In fact, now that he thought on it, had the skipper of the fishing boat really welcomed him on board or had he nodded to his deckhand? The fish monger had never really noticed him either, he just finished gutting the fish and put the slop bucket down. Strange that he should consider this at such a time.

Abandoned Cat existing in the streets of people-filled cities around the globe. No one to care. No one to help.

 Catspaw

Everything CAT: Stray Cat Poem

Everything CAT: Stray Cat Poem

http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/stray-cat-poem.html

Stray Cat Poem

This was written by by Zachariah Atteberry of Hannibal, Missouri.

She was thrown away and found again...

The cat in the picture is a cat one of my friends rescued. She was found in a ditch in a trash can (that's really what its coming to these days!).

Well they gave her a good home.

 Fore When I grow old   
I shall become a stray
To live the mournful life,
As a cast-a-way.

Abandoned like all the rest
buried like past in the sand
I will surely remember the past
As I leave paw prints in the land.

Shipwrecked away far from my home
I meow, with a fellow purr at the door
they now have a kitten all cuddly and warm
A younger cat, for them to adore.

We grow old and dusty
Thrown away like trash
Why do I still ponder...
I figure I might as well crash.

I still wander this land
One day soon to depart --
I leave paw prints in the sand
Perhaps... for another human to take heart.

 Catspaw