Warm and Fuzzies

Tess

Grace

Midge

         Just a little over a year ago we helped out a friend.  Her cat had a large litter of kittens and two were left without homes.  She asked us to take the two leftovers and agreed quickly (too quickly) to the idea that they would have to become barn cats.  As anyone with a house and barn surrounded by fields knows, you need a few good barn cats!  So we agreed mostly because we needed barn cats and because she told us that they were too big to stay and were about 6 months old.  Well the day came when she dropped off our new barn cats and to my astonishment they were babies!  Barely 6 weeks old, there was no way they could go to the barn without a mother cat to teach them how to hunt and survive, not to mention, we were entering winter, so into the house they came.  "Only until spring" I announced over and over, "Don't get attached, they will be going to the barn to live in about 5 months"  This I reminded myself as much as I reminded my husband and sons.  But these little balls of fuzz were masters of looking cute, being lovable and they wormed their ways into our hearts.  When spring finally appeared, the words, "It's not quite warm enough" were uttered and by June it was pretty obvious that these little girls weren’t going anywhere! 

            We named the larger 'Grace' because she sorely lacked any.... missed jumps, falling off armchairs, tripping over invisible items, she was anything but graceful.  But she has grown into a personable little dilute tortoiseshell cat with a beautiful face.  She has a penchant for bothering you at the dinner table.  It is the only time I hear her meow and she does so with a plaintive sound that makes you feel as if she is trying to get you to follow her to the site of some sort of tragedy, much like the beloved Lassie of the dog world.

            The smaller kitten is 'Tess'.  She is slight in stature but not in personality.  She will follow you at a dead run to beat you to the kitchen for some imagined treat that never materializes.  I have seen her go from sound asleep to running through the house in a blink of an eye.  And if you sit still for longer than a few minutes you will have a lap-warmer before you know it....a wonderful comfort for long winter evenings.  She is also our bathroom cat.  For some unexplainable reason she feels the need to watch over you while you brush your teeth, take a shower (peeking around the edge of the shower curtain) and put on your makeup.  She has a tiny, quiet voice and always sounds like she is asking a question.

            We have other cats too, 'Cleo' is a traditional tortoiseshell calico and the matriarch of the group is 'Midge' a cranky old lady of a cat.  All of our cats were rescues of sorts.  'Midge' was brought home from a construction site by my husband.  She was tiny, freezing and starving.  "She could not compete with the larger cats for the small amount of food." He explained.  'Cleo' was found at a funeral dinner, drenched by the pouring rain she was sitting in while watching the people come and go.  My oldest son brought her home "Please?" he pleaded.  She stayed. 'Cleo' lives most of the year with my son while at college.  It is interesting how when she comes home, the others sniff and stare for a bit but usually within a short time they are grooming each other and racing each other to the food bowl.  It is a rag-tag family, not without its squabbles but one that works for both felines and humans alike.  Afterall, there is nothing like a cup of hot chocolate, a good book, a warm kitten in your lap and a crackling fire to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. (1/17/11)