Dusty Update

When I picked up Dusty from the Vet today, I found out just how special this lil 3 pound guy is. Everyone at the Vet was in love with him. They all commented on how well he had bounced back and that all he did was "make bread". Dusty is a kneading machine! They brought him out and put him in the new cat carrier I had bought and the love stood there kneading like crazy, brushing up against the bars for a scratch.

I paid the coughsixhundredfiftydollarbillcough and left. We haven't even started on immunizations yet, but this lil guy is worth every penny.

Dusty will have to have separate food water & toilet until he is cleared of all parasites. I still wanted to start introductions though. I put the closed carrier on the floor next to Cuddles (the old lady at 19). Cuddles showed mild interest and sniffed at the intruder. There was a hiss, no louder than someone blowing out a candle from the crate. When Tabitha approached and sniffed, Dusty retreated to the back of his small space. Tabitha turned tail and retreated to the bedroom.

This surprised me.

It was only a few years ago when one of sons friends brought his miniature Collie in the house(Picachu, no less). Tabitha's back was to the dog when it entered. The dog barked. Suddenly, it was like Tabitha had an Acme rocket attached to her back. Her feet started running so fast in place she practically dug a trench in the linoleum floor. She shot down the hall in a blur, only to return a few seconds later, looking like a Halloween lawn ornament. Her tail was the size of a Raccoons, she was walking sideways and shooting flaming knives from her glowing eyes. She reacted to a dog that outweighed her by 25 pounds like this, yet retreated from a three pound kitten half her size.

Julieta was next. Poor Julieta. She is the sweetest thing with a 22 karat gold heart. She heard the minute hiss from her one sniff, hung her head with dejection and walked away like nobody loved her.

The old lady Cuddles, was the only one left when I opend the door. Dusty eagerly came out to my open hands and turned into a vibrating mass of jello on my chest. Free of his fleas, he is the softest, most gentle and affectionate kitten there ever was. He never stopped making bread either. He became a spineless ball of fur, so relaxed, rolling on his back, trusting me to support him, as long as I kept rubbing any part of his body.

He looked straight into my eyes while he rythmically pumped his paws And revved his motor. He came straight to my face, ducked his head and pushed against my nose. I'm not sure exactly what came over me, but the tears started flowing and I couldn't stop them. I looked up at the picture of my Dad on the wall and spoke out loud to him, "I couldn't save you, but I could save him".

My Dad was such a gentle man, he had an affinity and connection with all animals. He had a pet squirrel as a kid. It would sleep in the bottom drawer of his bureau and come & go through an open window. Wild animals could sense something about him and would take food from his hand (I will post pictures to prove it & remember the Saw Whet Owl?.) One time at a warehouse where he serviced forklifts, a baby squirrel climbed into his cupped hands when he bent to the ground.

There was only one choice for me, regarding this 12 week old baby. It's more than a coincidence that I decided at that precice time to trim the shrubs. Why didn't I do it while I was on vacation a couple weeks ago? I was watching TV and looking at the window being crowded by the stray branches. It was a spur of the moment decision to grab the pruners and go do it. Had I not, I would have found Dusty's carcass days or weeks later. In the 13 years I have lived here, I have never gone out and trimmed The Neighbors shrub. I didn't feel compelled or any strange sensations. I just did it, and I'm so glad I did. I'll pay for it with shredded furniture, more dollars than I can afford, surprising foot ambushes, scratches galore, cleaning up stinky male marking (even after neutering), being woken up in the middle of the night by a cold nose & whiskers and most importantly, more unconditional love & appreciation than you can imagine. I have no doubt that his nickname of "Boopy" with be replaced at times with something more profane, like "lil shit". But I will never regret my decision to save him. I'd like to think, I have my Daddy to thank for that.

Getting back to the introduction business. It was an hour or so later, Cuddles and Dusty had circled each other a couple times. Dusty figured the situation might not be so bad and decided to try and approach Cuddles for a lil nose to nose.

The crustly old lady laid such a bitch slap on Dusty, he did a flip and landed on his back. He dutifully gave her a wide bearth beyond that point. He happened upon the food and water of the resident felines in his exploration, not unnoticed by Cuddles. She cornered him by the water dish. He immediately went into a submissive postion on his back - exposing his belly. The otherwise passive and lazy senior, Cuddles, gave a second very vocal, as well as physical notice to this intrusive punk.

It's only been an hour and a half of the "quarantine" in Sons room before Son appeared from his room complaining about the kitten waking him up with his wiskers.

That lasted longer than expected.

It's been 19 years since I've had a kitten in the house. I have a feeling my memory is about to be refreshed.