Remember, Fridays are for fun.  Blogging isn’t always about Real Estate.  And I don’t want anyone to expect a clever story that ties my rescue cat to real estate … or does it?

Pets are amazing.  You can tell a lot about a person by their pet. Some people search the Internet for months analyzing which dog or cat would be the perfect pet for their family.  Some people go to the infamous pet stores that sell the ones that always turn out to have one infliction or another. Other people often just “find” a stray that has been hanging around. Then there’s me who having grown up with animals my whole life decided to adopt a “rescue” cat from one of those adoptive agencies that display the cats at Pet Smart.

I wasn’t planning on getting another cat after my beloved William passed away suddenly just before Christmas a couple of years ago.  He was the best cat I ever had.  We had conversations.  I talked to a pet psychic about him.  He understood me and was a real companion.  When we downsized to our current home I had him in mind thinking he could watch all the birds and squirrels he wanted from every room with the large windows all on one level. But, he didn’t make it. I thought I would never get over that loss.

But I was lonely and missed having a pet.

Then, several months later, we were just going to stop by the store to see what they had and I met Carrie.  Carrie looks just like William and I had never had a female cat before.  Carrie came with history and they said she was 7 years old.  She was literally a “fraidy cat” and not very friendly. She had lived so long in a cage that her little legs could hardly walk. Oh and did I mention someone had removed all her claws on all four paws?

I decided I was up for the challenge and going to make a difference in her life. 

A week later she was hiding under my couch (did you know they can even get under there) and wouldn’t come out.  Oh, they told me she had a “slight bladder infection”.  Right.   As if the trauma of a new home wasn’t enough I took her to the vet for a check up right away. They wanted her to have physical therapy for her legs but I said I would take care of that.  Long story short and $3,000 later she had major surgery to remove a severely infected portion of her bladder and was sent home with a morphine patch that she was not supposed to touch.  So they put on one of those “cones” like they put on dogs.  One minute later as she was trying to get under the couch it broke open.  What to do to save this precious little thing the vet now calls my miracle kitty!  Ah ha!  Onesie!  (For those of you that don’t know what a onesie is as a new mother).  One of those little T-shirt thingys with snaps. After the initial hurdle of her taking them off in a record 10 seconds and realizing they weren’t that bad she conceded.   Carrie now had onesies for every day of the week.  Babies r Us was having a sale.  She had white, pink, yellow and assorted tie dye ones.  They said “BUG”, “Princess” and “Angel”.  Carrie now became “Carrie Angel”.

Her previous foster homes did not treat her very well and her history showed she was over 18 pounds at one point and needed to be shaved because she has long hair that was severely knotted.  After the recovery from the surgery and the fact that I didn’t know where she had been we decided she needed a bath.  How fun that is!  I think I was wetter than she was and thank goodness I could close off the kitchen while we sprayed water everywhere.  I did this BEFORE the kitchen remodel! Cats can really howl when they want to!  But she was clean and dry and smelled like strawberries.

Today Carrie Angel is a trimmed down 12 – 13 pounder (depending on how many Greenies she gets).  We throw the Greenies and she runs (okay actually waddles) to get them thereby getting her exercise.  She has beautiful coat that we brush and comb every evening ( for a treat of course). She is still skittish and hides (especially from the vacuum) but I make a “cave” on our bed with the throw pillows and she likes it there. Her food dispenses from a “timed” food dish and she is healthy and more friendly. She has a favorite “perch” on the couch overlooking the yard and the birds and the squirrels.  I don’t think she ever had a real cat’s life before and she looks at them in wonder or maybe boredom.  She won’t get on my lap but the last couple of days she has gotten on the bed and slept next to my knees.  This gives me great comfort that she may be happier here and has finally found the perfect home.