I’m going to try to keep this shorter than War and Peace. For those who know me, you know that’s going to be difficult. There’s just so much I want to say!
Ophelia came into our lives through fate in October, 1999. We had talked about wanting a pet the night before but we couldn’t agree on what. Ironically Earl was the one who wanted a cat. The next night when I was getting ready for bed I heard the distinctive sound of a kitten in distress. I made Earl go outside & look all around but he couldn’t hear her outside. We finally figured out that the kitten was trapped in between the walls, between our apartment and the next one. In our minds there was only one choice – deposit be darned, we busted a hole in the wall. ~ 8 (very sleepless) hours later the smell of tuna – the closest thing we had to cat food – lured the baby kitty through the hole. She saw me and FREAKED. I saw her and an “Awwwww” involuntarily came from me and Earl said he knew right then that we had a cat. But anyone who wouldn’t have that reaction has a heart of stone, IMO!
She was ~6 weeks old, about the same size as a Beanie Baby, and had never seen a human in her life until she popped through the wall. Feral would be an understatement! Her momma-cat taught her well and she maintained many distinct feral characteristics throughout her life.
Except for one monumental mistake (I just HAD to hold her – she was SO CUTE!), I did the rest of her socialization pretty well by the book I didn’t know yet. She opened my eyes to feral cats, she and Trent brought me to TCS & got me involved here. I’ve been here for almost 10 years now. And because of her I really got involved in feral cat education, including being one of the founders of the websites with Laurie (LDG) www.SaveSamoa.org and www.StrayPetAdvocacy.org.
She and Trent bonded almost immediately. They grew up together and had a very brother-sister relationship. From babies…
…to older kitties who snuggled all the time…
Ophelia was always the epitome of the Princess. So much so that we were not allowed to call her “Princess.” :lol3: She didn’t like “Princess.” So she became “Precious” which pleased Her Highness, as seen here as The Princess & The Pea. (There are those who say that cats don’t understand words, but considering how similar Princess and Precious sound I have to disagree!
She was Daddy’s Girl through and through. He adored her too. It was completely mutual.
It took years for me to be able to pet her like he did. In actuality, my relationship with Ophelia only really blossomed in the past couple of years. I never was allowed to touch the tummy, no matter how tempting the pretty white fur was. Earl could occasionally. They had a very special relationship that I couldn’t get in on.
She was never a playful cat, though, and Trent drove her to distraction trying to play with her, which is why we expanded our feline family once I bought the house. This was about as playful as she usually got.
Ophelia came into our lives through fate in October, 1999. We had talked about wanting a pet the night before but we couldn’t agree on what. Ironically Earl was the one who wanted a cat. The next night when I was getting ready for bed I heard the distinctive sound of a kitten in distress. I made Earl go outside & look all around but he couldn’t hear her outside. We finally figured out that the kitten was trapped in between the walls, between our apartment and the next one. In our minds there was only one choice – deposit be darned, we busted a hole in the wall. ~ 8 (very sleepless) hours later the smell of tuna – the closest thing we had to cat food – lured the baby kitty through the hole. She saw me and FREAKED. I saw her and an “Awwwww” involuntarily came from me and Earl said he knew right then that we had a cat. But anyone who wouldn’t have that reaction has a heart of stone, IMO!
She was ~6 weeks old, about the same size as a Beanie Baby, and had never seen a human in her life until she popped through the wall. Feral would be an understatement! Her momma-cat taught her well and she maintained many distinct feral characteristics throughout her life.
Except for one monumental mistake (I just HAD to hold her – she was SO CUTE!), I did the rest of her socialization pretty well by the book I didn’t know yet. She opened my eyes to feral cats, she and Trent brought me to TCS & got me involved here. I’ve been here for almost 10 years now. And because of her I really got involved in feral cat education, including being one of the founders of the websites with Laurie (LDG) www.SaveSamoa.org and www.StrayPetAdvocacy.org.
She and Trent bonded almost immediately. They grew up together and had a very brother-sister relationship. From babies…
…to older kitties who snuggled all the time…
Ophelia was always the epitome of the Princess. So much so that we were not allowed to call her “Princess.” :lol3: She didn’t like “Princess.” So she became “Precious” which pleased Her Highness, as seen here as The Princess & The Pea. (There are those who say that cats don’t understand words, but considering how similar Princess and Precious sound I have to disagree!
She was Daddy’s Girl through and through. He adored her too. It was completely mutual.
It took years for me to be able to pet her like he did. In actuality, my relationship with Ophelia only really blossomed in the past couple of years. I never was allowed to touch the tummy, no matter how tempting the pretty white fur was. Earl could occasionally. They had a very special relationship that I couldn’t get in on.
She was never a playful cat, though, and Trent drove her to distraction trying to play with her, which is why we expanded our feline family once I bought the house. This was about as playful as she usually got.