Happy Birthday, Rebecca!

She was on the go even before she was born. During my pregnancy, she was impatient and wanted to hurry up and get on with her life. I had to keep off my feet for seven long months. My dog, Buddy a  120 pound an Alaskan Malamute mix,  stayed by my side the whole time; when Rebecca was born then he made it his job to protect her.

When she was around six months, I had placed her in a walker with a pillow to keep her comfortable and upright. As soon as I turned my back, her toes touched the ground, and she stood up, tossed away the pillow and charged through the house. Then right down the stairs. After being checked out at the ER, she was back in the walker, with all the doors closed and locked (I saw her turning door knobs).

Instead of diving down the stairs, she shot around the house. Sticking her feet in the dog’s food, then having him lick it off her toes, to pulling out drawers, pulling things off of table tops – she stood on her tiptoes trying to get a good look around,  zeroed on her goal and took off running. I gave up and took the walker away from her.

She loved laying on her blanket on the floor, where Buddy laid next to her. He never moved from her side, even as she held on to his tongue, shared his food, and crawled on his back grabbing handfuls of hair as she jumped up and down on his back. She crawled after him at top speed. He taught her to stand up; she held onto his fur as he slowly stood up taking her with him.

By the time she was seven months she was tottering around the house. At eight months she had decided to widen her horizons. While her father was watching her, she walked out the door. Buddy started whining. I freaked. I ran after her. Rebecca ran down the block, laughing. Totally unafraid of the dark.

She knew what she liked and didn’t. Pink was her color any other would bring out an intense yowling.

When we hand fed orphaned robins she didn’t hesitate to try to taste the worms.

When she was three she learned how to play chess with her brother.

She carried a bag of toys so she had something to play with; she liked to read bedtime stories

She is no longer that little girl. She is an amazing woman.  She hasn’t stopped running after what she wants. Her enthusiasm is never-ending

She has helped a lot of people and has a very big heart. She has never lost that need to explore.

I love you my daughter, and I wish you health, wealth and happiness; may you never lose that enthusiasm to see what is around the corner or behind each closed-door.

You will always be my little girl.

Love Mom

Last Tuesday morning I was talking on the phone and surfing the internet, while checking hundreds of emails.  When I decided to pull up the Tails web site, which is the Pet rescue place where we adopted Sanosuke in February of this year.

 I had sent Tails a copy and link to my Blog story about Sanosuke,  the one where I wrote about his adoption.  Soon after that Blog posting, Sano’s litter mates were adopted and their pictures disappeared off the adoption site.  So when I pulled up their site I was very surprised to see a kitten that looked like one of Sano’s sisters. Her name was Hershey.

I was curious about her history.  Why was she still there? Was she brought back?  Maybe I was wrong!  Cats look very similar, right?

I pulled out Sanosuke’s file and compared the litter numbers; they matched except for the last two digits. Which made sense each kitten would have their own number.

Biting my nails I clicked off the site and went about to reading emails.

Then my curiosity got to me and I called Tails and asked if any of Sanosuke’s litter mates where still there. I gave my phone number to the woman and was told I would get a call back.

Within thirty minutes Tails called back. I was told; one of Sano’s sisters had never been adopted. When the other kittens were adopted they moved her out of the cage into the cat room.  It wasn’t a good place for her. She was placed in a room that was being closed off due to a fungal infection.

Ooops!

I was told she was never ill. She never had an infection! Yet, she had to go through the incubation period of nearly two months while she got dipped; physically held down under water with only her eyes and mouth showing. The process can make a cat crazy and this kitten was in a room with a lot of other cats that needed help. They only had two wonderful people to take care of them physically and mentally. Hershey wasn’t given the attention she needed.  So her mental health was set to the side while they dealt with other cats, seemly, more stressed than her.  

I felt claustrophobic just hearing about it.

Now if you had read my original story on Sanosuke, you would know that he and his litter mates had very little human contact, besides getting medical care and being fed.  We were warned he was nearly feral.

Now, here I was hearing that she may never be just right, ‘and’ she will need a lot of one-on-one care. ‘And’ she wasn’t very social. ‘And’ she would freak when someone came near her. I thanked the woman for calling me back and hung up.

Then I hunted down Michael and told him the story.

Michael asked what I was going to do. One more kitten would be an expense. But then again cats are very clean and social animals. But this one may be broken.  Then he walked away from me…

It took me ten minutes of thinking.

The cats I had for years were from a mama kitty. She was my daughter’s first animal rescue.  My daughter was ten years old at that time.  I had been very surprised when that little cat gave birth, in the closet, within a month of coming into the house.  Her kittens never left my life. The last one, Sandy died at eighteen while I  held her.   

I grabbed my keys and headed for the car. Michael laughed and called out the door. “Don’t come back without her!”

When I entered Tails, the receptionist looked up and smiled and asked me if, I was there to adopt Hershey?

Laughing I asked, how she knew? She told me Michael had already called and informed them I was coming for her.

I filled out some paperwork while she located someone to help me.

A wonderfully patient volunteer took me in a room to talk. “When you saw, Hershey how did you get along with her? Was she friendly?”

I had to be honest; I haven’t seen her since we adopted Sanosuke and I told her so. I did ask, if Hershey was the kitten that had been staring at me though the glass wall?  She had spotted me when I walked in and we had ‘a moment’ through the glass. I cooed. And she stared.

I was told that was her.

Then, I explained that I was taking, Hershey home to her brother.

The woman looked at me quietly and said. “He may not remember her.”

“He will!” I said with a smile. “I have fed and observed feral cats for years. They know a family member when they are reunited.”

I don’t think she believed me…

She was trying to stop me from being disappointed.

When I said, “They just need to be shown to each other gently and with love.”

The interview was over and I finished signing the papers.

Hershey was placed in a room for me to observe her, and allowing me time to change my mind. I was warned not to enter the room.  I was told; she would freak due to her history and lack of human contact, and may hurt me or herself.  I needed to wait before I entered the room. She had just clawed the technician who brought her to me 

I waited a few minutes for the kitten to move away from the door. Then I entered the room.

I sat on the chair and waited.

She hid behind a chair and stared.

She had a look in her eyes similar to the animals on the commercials that have been abused.  So sad and scared!  I started talking telling her about her brother. She wasn’t listening to me at all.

Cats need to form a bond with humans in order to see them. Otherwise they have eyes only for other cats. Here she was, stuck in a room with a human.  And the only other people she knew would grab her and give her medicine and didn’t have time to play.

Carefully I moved the chair she was hiding behind and picked her up. She was stiff and extremely frighten. I started to rock her like a baby, and then she leaned against me without relaxing.

During this time I could hear the sound of the puppies and dogs from the doggie area. I wanted to go see them, but not today.

So many animals calling out for someone to love!

When I brought her home, Michael grabbed the carrier from the care and carefully set it down in the living room.

Tomoe hissed and hid.

                                  Kenshin glared and hid.

                                                                         PJ walked up and said, hello.  When she hissed at him, PJ looked like his feelings were hurt.

                                                                              Then

                                                                                    Sanosuke, slowly

                                                                                                            walked up

                                                                                                                          to the carrier.

They touched noses, and made happy sounds. She reached through the bars and gentle touched Sano’s head. He rubbed against the cage as she cried loudly from inside. Sanosuke sat and watched, as we set her up in a cage in the living room. He never stopped taking to her!  

They remembered each other and both are very happy. We changed her name to Kaoru…

Helping an animal doesn’t mean you have to adopt. You could volunteer, or donate money, or cat and dog crates, or baby blankets or new toys.   

If everyone can save just one animal, just one..   Just think how wonderful that would be!