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The Crazy Cat Lady #1

The Best Kitty Daddy, "One Eye"

By Carolann SherwoodPublished 6 years ago 13 min read
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Pixabay.com, "One Eye"

The Photos all through this article were the closest I could come to how each of our felines looked. They are photos from pixabay.com versus my photo gallery.

In between owning a family of felines, Grandma Beebe, her four kits, Bitzy, Jimmy, Vesta, and Pudge, her son Pudge and daughter-in-law Silly and their six grandkids Shadow, Diamond, Elly, Ebby, Doc, and Wyatt. Our family nurtured and took in a few more stray kits along the way. No kitty goes without shelter and food at our home.

This Crazy Cat Lady and her hubby can never turn down a kitty in need. Although at this stage of our lives we are winding down. We, meaning my hubby and me, are running out of steam and yearn to travel. We had some strays that refused to come in when we invited them in so we just fed them a nutritious meal every day and sent them on their way until the next day when they returned for their daily hand out.

Some magnificent stray felines wanted to come in and be a part of our home. These strays let us know that they yearned to be part of a family who took care of them and loved them.

We took each one of them for a checkup and did not think twice about adopting them. We gave these strays a home if they passed the medical test and did not carry anything that would harm our existing feline family.

When dealing with stray cats, you must make sure that they are not carrying a few illnesses such as feline leukemia or the FIP virus. A feline can live many useful and healthy years with leukemia although the FIP virus is another matter. Cats with these two diseases put other healthy cats in your family at risk.

Some of these beautiful creatures were abandoned and left to fend for themselves when the neighbors moved away. I do not know to this day and will never understand the cruelty of people towards animals; it makes no sense to me. Unfortunately, the uncaring nature of some people is never going to change.

Consider the world we live in today and the increase in violence of one human being towards another. These human beings have no consideration towards one another much less our animals.

My focus continues to be to try to make a difference in these adorable animals, and I think I did in the past and continued to do so, but my husband strictly reminds me, "We cannot save them all," I realize this but find it heartbreaking indeed, and continue to do what I can do.

One Eye

One kitty that I must give honorable mention to, we named "One Eye." He reminded me of a rough and tough sailor who had been in many fights throughout the years. He lost one eye in a ruckus sometime in the past. I pictured him as that sailor who had a girl in every port he sailed through.

One Eye was brilliant and had a soft heart of gold. My heart aches and tears fall for "One Eye," I know that someday I will be able to hug this beautiful kitty again.

One Eye would come to our back door twice a day for food. He did not look healthy, and I was afraid that he would pass something on to our cats, so I never let him in the house.

"One Eye" came around for about five years and never changed much. I honestly did not expect him to last from one year to the next year and the one reason why I never took him to the doctors was that I was sure the doctor would put him down and I did not want that for him. I wanted him to be able to wander and enjoy the outdoors for as long as he was able to enjoy the fresh air and hear the birds sing.

Every winter my husband and son built One-Eye a house made out of cardboard boxes, one attached to another so that he could bury himself deep inside where there were piled a bunch of blankets to keep him warm.

His food and water went inside also, and we covered his boxes with blankets and placed these boxes on the back of our front porch away from the wind.

I know that One Eye appreciated all we did for him. I also kept a supply of feline antibiotics on hand, and when I saw symptoms of a cold he would get some antibiotics, and that would make him better.

I think that the right nutritious diet and the warmth of a place to stay helped him live longer than any of us suspected. One day I opened the back door to greet One Eye for his morning meal and following behind him was the cutest baby bangle kitten which looked to be about six weeks old.

This baby was the spitting image of One Eye. I immediately suspected One Eye to be her daddy. One Eye looked at me and then waited patiently as this baby crawled up the five steps to our back porch.

I held the door open the baby finally made it the rest of the way and stood there with her daddy. One Eye looked at his baby and then looked at me and meowed a couple of times. This baby hopped through the door and stayed with us for the next 16-years.

We named this baby, Angel. It was evident that her daddy with only one eye brought her to us, hoping we would give her a home.

One Eye would continue to visit us for the following three years until one winter day; my husband felt this kitty would not make it another winter, so he took One Eye to the animal shelter.

As my husband was going inside with One Eye, an old farmer remarked,

"I just may take that kitty home to my farm."

We do not know if the farmer took One Eye or the shelter put him to sleep. I could not bear to think of the alternative. All I can say is that my heart ached for One Eye. I regret that I did not take the chance on a vet call a few years prior. I was afraid the vet would put him down, and I did not want this for One Eye as long as he was eating, drinking, and looked as good as he could.

One Eye's "Angel Baby"

Pixabay.com, "Angel Baby"

I loved an excellent fragrant candle, but I was afraid that a kitty would get too close and get burned. Instead, I used a small potpourri pot and melted fragrant wax or oils. The cats inside never bothered with this small crock pot. Most cared less. That is except for Angel.

As a warning to all cat lovers, never ever use fragrant sprays, candles, or melting pots for fragrant wax around dogs or cats. This is too dangerous and may jeopardize your beloved pet's health.

It was a Saturday morning when I was awakened about 7 AM by Angel. She managed to crawl up on my pillow and wake me up. She could not breathe and was in acute respiratory distress. We ran her to the vet. The vet initiated steroids and oxygen and kept her in the hospital on antibiotics for a few days. We had no clue what had happened to Angel until we returned home.

We found melted wax all over our table and living room curtain. Angel's curiosity got the better of her, and she dipped her paw into the wax and tried to lick it and shake it off her paw. This oil is what caused her respiratory arrest. My crock pot and oils went into the trash as fast as I could get it there.

When you have pets in the home, please use no aerosols, candles, melting pots, or diffusers as they are lethal to animals.

Although Angel lived an active and productive life, she did require random steroids and antibiotics for respiratory infections at least two to three times a year for the rest of her life.

This potpourri damaged her lungs. One day I could not get her over a new bout of respiratory infection, and before I could get her to the vet, she passed away in my arms.

Angel's death in 2012, at about the age of 15-years, caused me to carry a lot of guilt. One Eye brought her to me to care for, and I felt I betrayed her and One Eye's trust. Angel's death tore my heart in half.

RIP Angel until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge. I loved this special kitty and will forever remember her and her daddy One Eye and the day her daddy brought her to my home.

Little Sweet Pea

Pixabay.Com, "Sweet Pea" Only Had Eyes for My Daughter

It was about this time that a very pregnant little black kitty we named Miss Black started coming around for her meals. When the weather began to get colder, we made a bed for Miss Black in our basement. We had not taken Miss Black to the vet as she looked healthy enough, but we could not take a chance with our healthy felines.

One day, Miss Black delivered her litter of three babies, and two were dead, one tiny black and white baby lived, but Miss Black had no interest in feeding or caring for this only baby. Miss Black would sit in a stupor and not respond when we called her name as she did before the babies were born.

We took Miss Black to the doctors along with her surviving baby, and the doctor told us that Miss Black had irreversible anemia and the kind thing to do would be to put her to sleep.

Her baby, however, was healthy. My daughter and I fed Sweet Pea with a bottle until she could feed herself. I would take Sweet Pea to work, and the nurses took turns feeding her from her bottle every day that I had to work.

Sweet Pea attached herself to my daughter, they just seemed to click together, and when my daughter married and moved to her own home, she took Sweet Pea with her. This kitty was devoted only to my daughter and was a lovely pet, spending the next 16 years with my daughter and her family.

Sweet Pea passed away in 2013 from kidney failure, a common disease which is what takes many beloved and beautiful kitties home. RIP "Sweet Pea."

Willy Was A She!

Pixabay.Com, as a Newborn "Willy" Had a Strong Will to Live

Willy deserved the name she held for 16 years due to her incredible will to live. Shortly after taking Willy into our home, which was soon after Sweet Pea came into our lives, Willy became Wilhelmina.

Willy has a unique story to tell as did all of our strays. One summer morning I was getting ready for work. The days had been sweltering, near the 100-degree mark.

That morning I heard what sounded like a crow sound coming from the backyard. I took a quick look around, but I could not see anything, so I shut the door and went to work.

I got home that afternoon about 5:00 PM and went to open the back door for some air. I heard this crow sounding again. It was relentless. I now had the time to walk around the yard and take a thorough look.

When I lifted up a tree branch lying on the ground, I found a newborn baby kitty with the umbilical cord still attached and wrapped around that tree branch. I was shocked to see this baby and realized it had been there all day in the heat. My heart ached. I cut the cord, took the kitty in the house, got the baby bottle, and fed it a bit of cat milk. This cat drank well.

My soon to be son-in-law wanted to take care of this abanded baby. He said,"I have never been responsible for such as tiny life, and I want to care for her forever." He and my daughter did the bottle-feeding and raised this pet naming him Willy, due to its strong will to live.

During the next week, they took this kitty for a checkup and found out that their Willy was a Wilhelmina. However, the name Willy stuck with this cat for the next 16 years.

Willy passed away in 2012 from renal failure.

RIP Willy, you were loved beyond your wildest dreams.

Our Beloved Pippi Longstockings

Pixabay.Com, "Pippi" Had an Amazing Life Story

By the time Pip came along my son-in-law was an old hand at taking care of felines. He loved dogs and cats alike and if any needed help, he helped them much like his new mother-in-law, The Crazy Cat Lady.

My daughter loved dogs and cats also but did not want her home to become a second Noah's Ark, like her mother's home had become. My son-in-law and I had this thing in common, animal rescue.

Pippy Longstocking was a rescued stray. My son-in-law was working at a large factory one year as a security guard. Woods surrounded this plant. My son-in-law went on his usual short walk one evening around the property. This tiny kitty about one year of age came running out of the woods and up to my son-in-law wanting attention.

He stroked her head, and she continued to follow him until he had to get in his car and go home. As my son looked in his rearview mirror, he saw that this little kitty was running after his car.

He stopped the car, opened the door, and she jumped into the car. Pippy had no second thoughts. He and my daughter thus inherited a new kitty. They had Pip for about a year and could no longer keep her, so the Crazy Cat Lady took Pippy.

Pip made her home with us for the next 17 years. Pip was healthy all her life until she started having severe seizures in December 2014. Gradually Pip's vision began to fail until she became blind.

Even though Pip was now blind, she knew where everything was in our home. She followed the wall boards to get where she wanted to go. She was also able to climb the 15 steps to our second level. The vet gave us seizure medicine which did control the seizure episodes, that is until the medication was no longer useful.

Years before getting Pip we had a privacy fence installed around the front and back of our home. Like I said before, some of our cats cannot be contained and jump the fence. No cat in all these 21 plus years has run away and never returned home.

Towards the end of Pip's life I would still let her out in the enclosed backyard where she could rub up against and smell the trees and flowers, get some exercise, and fresh air even though she was blind she did amazingly well outside.

One day I let her outside for a short while, and when I went out to get her and she was nowhere in our yard. Pip had dug under the fence and got out. I took the car to try to see her. She was blind at this point.

Our neighbor a block away was installing a privacy fence, and there was Pip, huddled up against his back fence in the shade of an old oak tree. It was just by accident that I caught a glimpse of her. I called her name; she perked her ears up as I came near her. I stroked her little head and spoke to her. She allowed me to pick her up and bring her home.

When it gets near a cats time to die, they try to find a secluded place to be alone, and I do think that this is what Pip was trying to do, because in a few days Pip had one of the worse seizures ever and fell off the couch.

We decided it was time to send Pip to the Rainbow Bridge to meet the rest of her brothers and sisters. This decision did not come lightly, but when a beloved pet is suffering the decision is more natural to put them out of their misery. I never, ever left my pets alone when this bittersweet time came. I hold them and love them to their last breath.

We loved Pip so much, and she took another piece of our hearts.

Pippy, we love you and miss you so much. The doctor was confident Pip suffered from a brain tumor.

RIP Pip, December 24, 2014.

(My story continues in Stray Cats #2.)

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About the Creator

Carolann Sherwood

Professional nurse for over 40 years

Owned a children's daycare, eight years

Owned an upper scale clothing resale shop

A freelance writer

Editor since 2010 on a writing platform site

A published author, "Return To The Past" available on Amazon

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