Day 6 ~ Thankful for Pets

I love animals.  I don't hunt (neither does Dan), I brake for all little critters, I love cute, cuddly, loveable pets.  Over my lifetime, I've had an aquarium at various times, I've had cats and dogs (both house pets and outside pets), and most recently, we have some resident chickens (never knew they were so sassy!). 

My favorite is of the feline persuasion.  Domestic cats are independent, but are also cuddly, loveable, purring balls of fur (of course, there are exceptions, as with anything).  I have many fond memories of my kitties growing up and as an adult. 

My first cat was name Fluffy (I know, real original).  She was a black & white cat and she was the first (and last) housecat I had growing up.  I had lots of farm cats though... even the phase where I named all of the kittens after characters out of Lion King (Simba, Nala, Shenzi, Banzai, Sarabi, etc.).  

Once I was an adult, my first housecat was K.C. (Kitty Cat... so creative!).  She passed earlier this year from old age.  She was a cat that was the exception; very hard to love, but love her I did.  I had Tag ~ he was a naughty boy that I ended up giving to an aquaintance because he wouldn't leave K.C. alone.  I got Dan Lucy, whom we still have.  She's a big cry-baby and we love her to pieces.  Then I had Charlie.  Charlie was a truly unique cat, a one-of-a-kind.  My nose-kissing, pudding & ice cream lovin' cat.  And I miss him immensely, even after he's been lost now for 18 months. 

I would not be the person I am today without the love I've given (and received) from my feline friends and even my canine friends (such as my large four-legged friends Baby and Ramsey).  They love us unconditionally and make us better people.  For that, I am truly thankful.  To show my thanks, a tribute is below of my little man.

K.C.

Lucy

Charlie

Charlie

A Tragic Beginning

We got Charlie and his sister Suzie at a garage sale.  We paid $5 for the both of them - a bargain if you ask me.  They were 6 weeks old at that time.  They were to be outside kitties to help with the mouse population.  Tragedy struck two weeks later. 

It was a horrifying experience.  At that time, Dan & I rode together to work since we both worked in Cedar Rapids.  We pulled into the driveway and when I opened up the passenger door of the Cadillac, I noticed that Charlie was lying in the driveway and that Dan had been within inches of running him over.  He looked at me and gave me a pitiful little cry.  I said "Charlie, what's the matter, huh?" and bent down to pick him up.  I noticed then that he had 3 large puncture wounds in his body - on his side, chest, and neck.  I panicked and yelled for Dan.  I gently picked him up and rushed him to the door of the house, where Dan met me.  Dan grabbed the phone from the house to call Dr. Baxter, our vet.  While Dan was on the phone talking to Dr. Baxter on what we needed to do for him and was making him comfortable in a little bed in our attached garage, I went on the hunt to find Suzie. 

I called for her and walked the perimeter of the house, franticly searching for her.  I couldn't find her, so started searching in our detached garage.  She wasn't there either.  I checked the corn crib, the stables, the backyard.  I finally walked through the hoop barn and at the end of the hoop barn, I caught my breath.  I saw Suzie lying on the slab of cement at the very corner of our property... she wasn't moving.  As I walked closer to her, I knew the worst had happened.  As the tears streamed down my face, I screamed for Dan.  He came sprinting from the house to get to me.  I was sobbing by the time he got to me, because poor Suzie had been viciously mauled and left for dead.  Dan gingerly picked up her lifeless body and gave her to me. 

With tears running down his cheeks, he went to the garage and grabbed the shovel.  I held her close to me, apologized to her for not protecting them better, and cried.  We buried her under our big elm tree in the backyard, where she loved to play.  We know that's where she was the happiest and where she should be.  Even as we grieved for Suzie at her graveside, we knew we had to do everything possible to save her brother. 

We determined that both cats were attacked by the slab of cement, being tiny and defenseless against their seasoned attacker.  Charlie, using every ounce of strength in his little body, had crawled from there up to the house in his search for us to help.  It's heartbreaking to think of even to this day. 

Together, we cleaned out his wounds as Dr. Baxter informed Dan to do and put him back into his little bed in the attached garage.  We knew he'd be safe there, as that garage is always shut, so nothing could possibly get to him.  Dan made a small litter box for him, while I gave him warm milk & found some canned food to eat.  I had to help him eat, as he was too weak to even stand to drink his milk and eat.

After a few days, we started noticing that he was developing large lumps on his side & neck.  I immediately took him in to see Dr. Baxter.  It turns out the one on his side was infection.  The vet lacerated it and gave me instructions on how to keep the infection out.  It was a rather disgusting process, but there was nothing I wouldn't do for our brave little man.  Dr. Baxter thought the lump on his neck was inflammation on his spine and thought it might end up being permanent.  He said Charlie would probably always have a lump on his neck that hindered the mobility of his head. 

I then brought him home and showed Dan what we needed to do to keep the infection out.  We worked together to make sure Charlie had the best chance possible at life.  By this time, Charlie had been moved from the garage to the house. 

One day, a few weeks later, I noticed that after a wrestle session with Dan's cat Lucy, the lump on Charlie's neck had opened and the lump was actually an infection like what had been on his side. 

We set to work immediately and started cleaning his neck the same way we cleaned his side.  In short order, his wounds healed, the infection was gone, and little Charlie was a permanent part of our household.  Obviously, he stayed in the house and at 4 months of age, I took him back to the vet to be declawed & neutered. 

Charlie was the most loveable & young at heart cat we've ever known.  He slept with me every night (until he started keeping me up at night), raced to the door when I got home from work, cuddled with me in my recliner, kept the other two house cats active, and followed me around the house when I did my housework.  You would never have imagined the ordeal he went through so long ago. 

He was my best bud and according to Dan... a troublemaker.  Charlie was an innocent, loveable little guy and I couldn't imagine not having him be a part of our lives.  We saved him from certain death, but he did so much for us as well - showed us unconditional love, affection, and was quite often a source of laughter & amusement.