It was pointed out to me that there are a few of the Jellicle Tribe that just don't get the face time on The Cat Site that some of the others get (i.e. Freeway)
So, I've decided to make a few detailed posts dedicated to the quiet, unobtrusive Jellices that are always in the background, being the "wind beneath the wings" of the tribes more outlandish characters
Blondie Rumpleteaser
To this day, I think that Blondie knew where she was going. Less that day before, we had lost Nauti (short for Nautical, she's was born in a winterized speedboat). Little Nauti had been allergic to everything and had been left behind by her feral mom and two siblings. She is the reason we have glass and stainless steel bowls still today. But one night her allergies reacted to something, and she left us during the night.
A day later, a co-worker friend of mine called and said that he'd found a "yellow cat" that he wanted to get in out of the cold. This was just at the end of November, and quite cold. He had seen her leaving his house that morning, but didn't think much of it. She was across the road from his drive, headed south. And hour later, down the road at his farm, he saw her again at the north line crossing the farm, still heading south. He found her again just before leaving the farm, at the south line. She was cold, skinny, and was trying to gnaw pieces off a frozen feed block made for cattle. She was kind of skittish, but not scared, and he gave her the last half of his tuna salad sandwich and some bottled water, put her in the truck and called me. His county does not have a shelter, and none of the shelters take "out of county" intakes. I wasn't feeling up to another cat so soon after losing Nauti, but I told him that I could take her to our shelter and turn her in as a resident.
As it turns out, the "yellow cat" was barely more than a kitten, perhaps 5-6 months old, and not yellow but a gold/creme color, practically blond. I put her in a pet taxi with a folded towel and we headed for town, about 40 miles away, an 80 mile round trip. Every little while I would put a spoonful of wellness on a paper plate for her so she wouldn't eat too much too fast. Something happened on that long drive, and we never did go to the shelter. Instead, we went to Dr. Cathy's for a checkup, some earmite treatment and some shots. That was 4 years ago as of November 30th. Ricky's farm is straight north of my house, and lil' Blondie had been headed south with determination. Maybe Nauti was giving directions? I'll never know
But I think she just may have known where she was going, and managed to catch a ride.
Blondie took several months coming out of her shell, but now is hands down the chatterbox. She is constantly talking, headbutting, washing; she is very, very social with people and other cats. She is one of the first to dash to the bed at bedtime, and will dive under the covers to sleep under my arm.
Day 2. She had been hiding behind the sofa, and here she had come to the edge to look around.
This is about day 4. She had finally come out from behind the sofa, but was still making sure that she knew where all the other cats were (this was before I learned a few things about introductions)
Well, maybe other cats aren't so bad.....
I took two pictures for a reason. I didn't want anyone to think that I'd just caught her in the middle of a meow or a yawn. Blondie gets just plain bombed on catnip. She held this expression for several minutes
Blondie was totally unimpressed with any and all attempts to keep her off the counters. The final solution was, to take everything off the counter tops. Once she decided that counters are boring, she stopped going there
After her adventures as a kitten, Blondie Rumpleteaser has shown very little interests in the outdoors, other than sitting at the window and birdwatching. Even in the outdoor enclosure, she will very rarely step off the shelving that they use to get in and out. The rare times that she does actually step onto the grass, she has this hilarious little "stuff on my feet" dance
So, I've decided to make a few detailed posts dedicated to the quiet, unobtrusive Jellices that are always in the background, being the "wind beneath the wings" of the tribes more outlandish characters
Blondie Rumpleteaser
To this day, I think that Blondie knew where she was going. Less that day before, we had lost Nauti (short for Nautical, she's was born in a winterized speedboat). Little Nauti had been allergic to everything and had been left behind by her feral mom and two siblings. She is the reason we have glass and stainless steel bowls still today. But one night her allergies reacted to something, and she left us during the night.
A day later, a co-worker friend of mine called and said that he'd found a "yellow cat" that he wanted to get in out of the cold. This was just at the end of November, and quite cold. He had seen her leaving his house that morning, but didn't think much of it. She was across the road from his drive, headed south. And hour later, down the road at his farm, he saw her again at the north line crossing the farm, still heading south. He found her again just before leaving the farm, at the south line. She was cold, skinny, and was trying to gnaw pieces off a frozen feed block made for cattle. She was kind of skittish, but not scared, and he gave her the last half of his tuna salad sandwich and some bottled water, put her in the truck and called me. His county does not have a shelter, and none of the shelters take "out of county" intakes. I wasn't feeling up to another cat so soon after losing Nauti, but I told him that I could take her to our shelter and turn her in as a resident.
As it turns out, the "yellow cat" was barely more than a kitten, perhaps 5-6 months old, and not yellow but a gold/creme color, practically blond. I put her in a pet taxi with a folded towel and we headed for town, about 40 miles away, an 80 mile round trip. Every little while I would put a spoonful of wellness on a paper plate for her so she wouldn't eat too much too fast. Something happened on that long drive, and we never did go to the shelter. Instead, we went to Dr. Cathy's for a checkup, some earmite treatment and some shots. That was 4 years ago as of November 30th. Ricky's farm is straight north of my house, and lil' Blondie had been headed south with determination. Maybe Nauti was giving directions? I'll never know
Blondie took several months coming out of her shell, but now is hands down the chatterbox. She is constantly talking, headbutting, washing; she is very, very social with people and other cats. She is one of the first to dash to the bed at bedtime, and will dive under the covers to sleep under my arm.
Day 2. She had been hiding behind the sofa, and here she had come to the edge to look around.
This is about day 4. She had finally come out from behind the sofa, but was still making sure that she knew where all the other cats were (this was before I learned a few things about introductions)
Well, maybe other cats aren't so bad.....
I took two pictures for a reason. I didn't want anyone to think that I'd just caught her in the middle of a meow or a yawn. Blondie gets just plain bombed on catnip. She held this expression for several minutes
Blondie was totally unimpressed with any and all attempts to keep her off the counters. The final solution was, to take everything off the counter tops. Once she decided that counters are boring, she stopped going there
After her adventures as a kitten, Blondie Rumpleteaser has shown very little interests in the outdoors, other than sitting at the window and birdwatching. Even in the outdoor enclosure, she will very rarely step off the shelving that they use to get in and out. The rare times that she does actually step onto the grass, she has this hilarious little "stuff on my feet" dance