Tessa
My cat Tessa is 2 years old today. She was one of a stray cat's litter that I found in my back yard. There were 4 other kittens and I found other homes for them too. I was able to eventually catch the mom cat and get her spayed. I let her go afterwards and she sometimes comes around. All the neighbors feed her and shelter her in the winter. Tessa is a black long hair and the only physical traits she inherited from her mom cat is her slender long legs and long body. Her favorite human foods are radishes and chili. Her personality is hauty and distant and I don't like that part of our relationship. She only sees me as her mother since I raised her almost from birth. I used an eyedropper to feed her water and made mush out of kitten food and taught her how to eat without breathing in her food through her nose. I had to wear a feeding shirt since the process was quite messy. I used a damp rag to wipe her completely down after she ate. She just sat there and let me do it. I taught her how to poop and use a litter box too. We started with a plastic bowl filled with litter since the big box was too big and scary and definitely too far away. I was still sick (pancreatitis) and on disability at home when I found her so we were inseparable for about a month. She played, slept and watched the world from my chest. Her most annoying habit was and is laying on my head. When I am laying down on the couch she will find me and lay on my head. It's hard too read when you have a purr motor reverberating through your brain. It's also difficult to read when the book is being attacked from above. It's most difficult to read with paws hanging in your eyes. *sigh* Everything about her is on her time only. Too damn bad for me if I want to baby her up. She is 2 years old and still sleeps under my chin across my throat. I have grown used to sleeping with a fur collar. Occasionally I wake up to my nose getting a spur of the moment chin and / or nose bath. To attempt to block such action is fruitless. Eventually she gets what she wants. My big cat Ted loves her to pieces too. He desperately wants to be her parent too. But she can barely stand having one mom let alone two. He attempts to bathe her and is immediately attacked by her. Her favorite tactic is to lay on her back and wait for him to come in close so she can bite his ear. She never did develop a meow voice. The normal sounds from her are "peeps" and "bird like chirps." I do love her and I wish we had more of a friend relationship, but it mother/daughter in nature so I don't think it will change.
If any of this creeped you out it's because you don't have the relationships and understandings that I do with animals. I have some stories of animal friendships that would make you cry. Not because they are sad, but because the stories are special. Since my earliest memories I have had an empathy for animals that is very strong and usually accurate. Going to the animal shelter is an almost impossible ordeal for me, I'm starting to cry right now thinking about it. I get overwhelmed by emotions and want to take everyone home with me. All three of my cats are strays. Two of them I found abandoned and Ted I got from the shelter, all were kittens.
So today is Tessa's Birthday. I think I will go stalk, grab and hug her until she chirps at me and wiggles free.
My cat Tessa is 2 years old today. She was one of a stray cat's litter that I found in my back yard. There were 4 other kittens and I found other homes for them too. I was able to eventually catch the mom cat and get her spayed. I let her go afterwards and she sometimes comes around. All the neighbors feed her and shelter her in the winter. Tessa is a black long hair and the only physical traits she inherited from her mom cat is her slender long legs and long body. Her favorite human foods are radishes and chili. Her personality is hauty and distant and I don't like that part of our relationship. She only sees me as her mother since I raised her almost from birth. I used an eyedropper to feed her water and made mush out of kitten food and taught her how to eat without breathing in her food through her nose. I had to wear a feeding shirt since the process was quite messy. I used a damp rag to wipe her completely down after she ate. She just sat there and let me do it. I taught her how to poop and use a litter box too. We started with a plastic bowl filled with litter since the big box was too big and scary and definitely too far away. I was still sick (pancreatitis) and on disability at home when I found her so we were inseparable for about a month. She played, slept and watched the world from my chest. Her most annoying habit was and is laying on my head. When I am laying down on the couch she will find me and lay on my head. It's hard too read when you have a purr motor reverberating through your brain. It's also difficult to read when the book is being attacked from above. It's most difficult to read with paws hanging in your eyes. *sigh* Everything about her is on her time only. Too damn bad for me if I want to baby her up. She is 2 years old and still sleeps under my chin across my throat. I have grown used to sleeping with a fur collar. Occasionally I wake up to my nose getting a spur of the moment chin and / or nose bath. To attempt to block such action is fruitless. Eventually she gets what she wants. My big cat Ted loves her to pieces too. He desperately wants to be her parent too. But she can barely stand having one mom let alone two. He attempts to bathe her and is immediately attacked by her. Her favorite tactic is to lay on her back and wait for him to come in close so she can bite his ear. She never did develop a meow voice. The normal sounds from her are "peeps" and "bird like chirps." I do love her and I wish we had more of a friend relationship, but it mother/daughter in nature so I don't think it will change.
If any of this creeped you out it's because you don't have the relationships and understandings that I do with animals. I have some stories of animal friendships that would make you cry. Not because they are sad, but because the stories are special. Since my earliest memories I have had an empathy for animals that is very strong and usually accurate. Going to the animal shelter is an almost impossible ordeal for me, I'm starting to cry right now thinking about it. I get overwhelmed by emotions and want to take everyone home with me. All three of my cats are strays. Two of them I found abandoned and Ted I got from the shelter, all were kittens.
So today is Tessa's Birthday. I think I will go stalk, grab and hug her until she chirps at me and wiggles free.
