A CAT STORY

by Victor M Adamus

The cat I love and who loves me most is a Himalayan I rescued from a pig farm in Palm Bay, Florida.  The man who bought her off an ad in a nationwide animal magazine thought he had bought a show cat to make money off one day and when he got her back home as a kitten soon found out she had a protruding tooth which would disqualify her from any hopes of the big money.  The kitten was obviously abused and I’m not sure how many ads he ran for a buyer to pay top dollar for the kitten but because a neighbor friend had seen how badly she was treated, she called me to the rescue knowing I already had a Himmie, our little Maggy, and my home would be perfect for a battered kitten.  As kind hearted as Maggy is, the hope was the older Himmie would care for the younger one.

I was shocked to see the kitten we named Zoey, cuddled under a china cabinet which was our first introduction.  Quite frankly, the owner never thought anyone would pay his price, that she would starve, just die, and he would write her off as a bad investment.  Yes, her protruding tooth would disqualify her as a show cat, she did however come from a line of famous felines, but the toof, as we lovingly call it, would not have made the grade in International Competition.

But I immediately fell in love with her and so paid the man his asking price and took her home only to find that she felt so threatened she first hid behind the dryer shaking; then having retrieved her from there, hid under the king sized bed in our bedroom, never to come out even to get some food.  I had to hand feed her to keep her alive and had to keep Maggy away from her because Maggy tried to attack her. Our hopes that Maggy would take her under her paws, so to speak, dwindled as time went on.  This was not going to be the relationship we had counted on. 

It took ten days before Zoey would come out from under the bed.  And when she did, she saw me working in my office from the hallway.  I saw her and developed a lump in my throat. 

She walked slowly into the office leaving my field of vision because of my large work desk.  Then with no notice, jumped onto the desk and into my in-basket and she has remained there every day since.  It’s her favorite place to sleep.  She’s in the basket now.  She adjusted, her way, and the wait was worth it.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a better pet.  We had a dog for 17 years who had to be put down and it broke our hearts.  We decided to get Maggy because a friend was leaving town and couldn’t take her with her.  She is true to the breed, has the Siamese killer instinct and is constantly finding lizards to catch even though she is an in house pet.  We never allow either cat to go out.  Both are neutered and although they often chase each other for exercise, no blood letting has occurred so we feel it’s safe to leave them together over night.

Zoey

Zoey wakes me every morning at 6am whether I need to get up at that time or not.  A very loving cat, she kneads on my arm, bites at my cheek, and purrs up a storm.  I always play dead so she stays with me longer and when I do wake she jumps off the bed and heads to the door waiting for me to open it so she can have her morning cookies.

 Zoey has her own blog and shares a blog with her sister Maggy.  Both kittehs are a big part of our lives and we are really glad we rescued the Zoey.