Saturday, October 12, 2013

It's Impossible Not to Fall in Love with a Tortie

Out of the countless abandoned cats and unwanted kittens wandering the streets, only the luckiest ever get a forever home, while all of the less fortunate, yet deserving ones, remain homeless and forced to fend for themselves, doomed to a poor quality of
life. Their life expectancy is short as they are constantly facing a myriad of risks like starvation, abuse, the possibility of contracting some deadly disease and the ever present threat of being hit by a car... just to name a few. Neglected and all alone, somehow
forgotten, they are living their miserable, brief lives, struggling to survive, enduring pain, hunger, thirst and cold, waiting for a miracle which rarely occurs and usually die tragic deaths. However, by a strange twist of fate, some of those seemingly unimportant kitties
which are in fact betrayed by mankind, get a second chance, a new life and a whole new world opening up for them. Five years ago, the sun began to shine on Muppet Show.

She was just a wee baby when our paths crossed – a tiny little
tortie with bright green eyes unbelievably wide with fear, thoroughly distrustful, withdrawn and literally scared of everything. Not before she had spent months living in my garage, surrounded by other cats, safe and well fed, did she manage to relax a little. Still
distant and shy, she was growing into a lovely, beautiful cat with a rather unique face, startling emerald eyes and a pensive expression, not overly social but kind, sweet and nice.

When the time came for her to be spayed, the surgery itself went
well, but her recovery was prolonged and difficult. Although spaying is a safe and routine procedure and complications seldom occur, it took her quite a while to recover, her belly remained swollen for weeks and evidently, something was wrong. No definitive
diagnosis was given, but the vet said she might have some congenital disorder that can’t be treated. She will live as long as she lives and the only thing I could do was to try and make her life as full and comfortable as possible.
Nevertheless, she hasn’t had any serious health issues for years until this summer, when she suddenly stopped eating, became lethargic and started having blood in her stools; not much later she became dehydrated and her body temperature was
dangerously low. Well aware of her unidentified birth defect I feared the worst, but luckily it was just a virus and after a few days of receiving IV fluids she was already on the mend. Unusually mellow and sweet at the vet’s while she was sick and weak,
she began putting up a fierce fight as soon as she felt a little better and bounced back to health in a couple of weeks.

Years have passed now since she was taken off the streets and found safety and love. Even though she was just a baby when
I first laid my eyes on her, she simply wasn’t able to overcome her initial distrustfulness and has remained skittish and watchful up to this day. Always keeping a good distance between herself and humans, she has discovered the way to live the life she wants in her own
little world, without conflicts and avoiding close encounters, as she's the most content and calm when left alone. Although she is usually watching me from afar, there is light in her green eyes that is radiating with serenity, a recognizable inner
peace of the once unwanted and hungry stray who after a rough start in life managed to find her place under the sun.

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