It's hard to believe it's been over a year since I lost my Rascal baby. It's been a rather depressing year all in all, but we've not lost any more. Three must've been enough for now.
For a long time I thought that I had changed so much from the grief, that it was going to be difficult for me to allow myself to get so close again..... Until last fall, when one scruffy but beautiful young stray changed my mind...
And my life! Living in the mountains as I do, stray kitties are extremely rare. In fact I'd never seen one until this past spring when I looked out the window and there he was! A young un- neutered male orange tabby with the prettiest orange eyes I've ever seen. From that day I made certain he didn't have to hunt unless he wanted to. I made sure he was able to be warm and safe ( though still outside), until I could teach him that I was not a danger. It took from 4 to 6 months to "tame" him down. By then it was September, and I didn't want him out all winter if I could manage it. This turned out to be much easier than I had ever imagined such a thing could be. He had been and still was rather skittish around us, but had made friend with my cats in their outdoor pen. Suddenly, several surprising things seemed to happen all at once. Our little stray found his way ( somehow?) into the cat pen and scared himself. Realizing this, I went over and opened the gate/ door so he could leave if he wanted to. A few days later he was back inside the fence, but stayed a while to play with my cats. I worried for a while about the possibilities of him infecting my other cats... But soon realized that he had likely been out there longer than I knew, so it was rather too late, and I could not bring myself to scare him or chase him away. I thought if I could befriend him, then they could start getting checked out ( again) as he got used to us.
About a week later everything suddenly changed pretty dramatically. Hubby and I woke up one morning to find this little guy sitting in the hallway looking at us. He had found his way into the pen again, then followed the scents and made his way through a rather long tunnel, up the ramps, through the window, and into the house! From that morning, this has been his home.... Luckily, as I discovered he was injured not much after that. We went right to the Vet with no problems and a lot of trust.
We call him Tangee ( for Tangerine), and he is the world's sweetest, gentlest cat. We've had zero problems, no spraying, fighting, or other problems. His temperament is very much like my Rascal's, and I genuinely believe that he was sent to us. Such a sweetheart of a cat! I wish I knew his story, but I take him as he is.... A lovely, sweet, and loving gift, and I am so very grateful, every single day!
So--- Here he is, my Tangee!
Tangee, the Magical Merlin of cats!
For a long time I thought that I had changed so much from the grief, that it was going to be difficult for me to allow myself to get so close again..... Until last fall, when one scruffy but beautiful young stray changed my mind...
And my life! Living in the mountains as I do, stray kitties are extremely rare. In fact I'd never seen one until this past spring when I looked out the window and there he was! A young un- neutered male orange tabby with the prettiest orange eyes I've ever seen. From that day I made certain he didn't have to hunt unless he wanted to. I made sure he was able to be warm and safe ( though still outside), until I could teach him that I was not a danger. It took from 4 to 6 months to "tame" him down. By then it was September, and I didn't want him out all winter if I could manage it. This turned out to be much easier than I had ever imagined such a thing could be. He had been and still was rather skittish around us, but had made friend with my cats in their outdoor pen. Suddenly, several surprising things seemed to happen all at once. Our little stray found his way ( somehow?) into the cat pen and scared himself. Realizing this, I went over and opened the gate/ door so he could leave if he wanted to. A few days later he was back inside the fence, but stayed a while to play with my cats. I worried for a while about the possibilities of him infecting my other cats... But soon realized that he had likely been out there longer than I knew, so it was rather too late, and I could not bring myself to scare him or chase him away. I thought if I could befriend him, then they could start getting checked out ( again) as he got used to us.
About a week later everything suddenly changed pretty dramatically. Hubby and I woke up one morning to find this little guy sitting in the hallway looking at us. He had found his way into the pen again, then followed the scents and made his way through a rather long tunnel, up the ramps, through the window, and into the house! From that morning, this has been his home.... Luckily, as I discovered he was injured not much after that. We went right to the Vet with no problems and a lot of trust.
We call him Tangee ( for Tangerine), and he is the world's sweetest, gentlest cat. We've had zero problems, no spraying, fighting, or other problems. His temperament is very much like my Rascal's, and I genuinely believe that he was sent to us. Such a sweetheart of a cat! I wish I knew his story, but I take him as he is.... A lovely, sweet, and loving gift, and I am so very grateful, every single day!
So--- Here he is, my Tangee!
Tangee, the Magical Merlin of cats!
