I'd like you to meet our little Nellie girl, the sister component of our brother/sister pair of kitty cats. She's a small, delicate, fine boned little thing, a real snuggly sweetheart. Her brother, Mooch, is bigger, fluffier, and bit of a klutz. With Mooch in your lap, if you move or shift position, he gives you a dirty look, jumps down, then stalks off. Nellie takes things in her stride. Then again, it's not surprising, given what life has handed her.
A few years ago, she was in an accident. We're not sure what happened, but she went missing for a few days, and when she hobbled home it was with a mangled paw. It looked like perhaps she was caught in a snare of some kind, and her leg couldn't be saved. So now she's our sweet tripod cat. She has never let only having one front leg stop her. When we brought her home, her front shoulder all shaved, stapled, and traumatized, she simply hopped out of the carrier, hobbled over to check out her food and water, then back into the living room, where she hopped up into my lap and snuggled in for a nap. She moved a little like a bunny rabbit...front leg forward, then hop with the back, until she found that running was the same action with three legs or four, and when she runs you'd never know she has only three legs. Her favorite pastime? Catching chipmunks from the back yard, bringing them in the house, then letting them go. I can almost hear her giggling as we scurry around with a plastic container trying to catch her prize.
A few years ago, she was in an accident. We're not sure what happened, but she went missing for a few days, and when she hobbled home it was with a mangled paw. It looked like perhaps she was caught in a snare of some kind, and her leg couldn't be saved. So now she's our sweet tripod cat. She has never let only having one front leg stop her. When we brought her home, her front shoulder all shaved, stapled, and traumatized, she simply hopped out of the carrier, hobbled over to check out her food and water, then back into the living room, where she hopped up into my lap and snuggled in for a nap. She moved a little like a bunny rabbit...front leg forward, then hop with the back, until she found that running was the same action with three legs or four, and when she runs you'd never know she has only three legs. Her favorite pastime? Catching chipmunks from the back yard, bringing them in the house, then letting them go. I can almost hear her giggling as we scurry around with a plastic container trying to catch her prize.
What I've learned from Nellie?
There's nothing better than a warm lap.
It's good to shake things up a bit sometimes.
Challenges can be overcome and life faced with joy and without fear.
Sun Chips and ice cream are yummy. Together or separately.
You can get pretty much get anything you want if you annoy people enough--mews, scritches, making dough--especially at 4 am. Works wonders.
In other news...
Work was crazy today. Actually, for the last couple of days. It has been all I could do to get a photo up a day--but doing so allows me to lift my head out of it enough to see that there IS a world out there! I'm hoping things will calm down a bit by the weekend, at which point I'll be going through the blogs I usually read and comment on. I'm not ignoring everyone! I just want to be able to savor your posts. :o)
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4 comments:
God I love cats! What a sweet little face Nellie has. I have 5 cats, which is about 2 too many. But as we speak, my lovely Lilah is missing. She's a house cat but haven't seen her in 2 days and a search turned up zip. She's 16, so I'm hoping she hasn't crawled off somewhere...
I have never seen a 3 legged cat. Good for her!
Maureen: I love them, too. I hope you find your Lilah. They get to be family, don't they? I love how you have to earn a cat's respect. Yeah, they're opportunistic, but so warm and cozy. Nelly has never let one front leg stop her--she still catches chipmunks and brings them in, alive, before letting them go then grinning as we scurry about trying to catch her gift. :oD
Aw...Nellie is beautiful! What a little smushie-love....
Of course the girl kitty is more easy going than the BOY. I mean, seriously.....
Boys can be such a pain.
Kathryn: No kidding. The attitude I have to deal with around this house, what with the three boys I have to deal with. Honestly. ;o)
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