CH Kitty Club

20050101 Beth Chase & Heather (Buddy) Deceased
My daughter, Heather, has a friend (Sarah) who had been trying to get us to go see a litter of kittens that are next door to her. We already have a house full of cats, and we said "Absolutely not." We didn't want to risk even looking at them because we know how "soft" we are about taking in kittens who need a good, loving home.

About a week ago, we went to visit Sarah. While we were outside talking, my daughter caught a glimpse of the kitties on the porch next door.

We walked next door to see the kitties. What a beautiful bunch of kitties! One white, two mostly black, a calico, and a "diluted" calico. Gorgeous kittens. Then she spotted Buddy. Smaller than the others, mostly black with just a tiny bit of white on his chest, and a tiny bit of white hair on his lower belly. He seemed to be trying to keep up with his brothers and sisters while they were playing. His "wobbly-ness" was very obvious. I know from that very second that we were in trouble.

The owner of the cats was trying to catch Buddy, but he didn't really want to be caught at the moment, and was a bit apprehensive with strangers being there. As he ran from her, trying to hide, my daughter and I were close to tears watching him struggle to keep his balance. The owner picked him up finally, and he calmed down and was just a sweetheart. He just laid in her arm-kind of chillin' and looking around. After awhile, she put him down. He went tumbling end over end down the 5 or 6 stairs that let to her porch, he landed on the ground, stumbled around, fell a couple of times, and then toppled over to his mama.  Just as he reached his mother, he fell on his left side, with his little mouth right next to a nipple. It kind of made a person think that he was thinking to himself: "I MEANT " to do that! we all laughed at how cute it was and how even though it was rather reckless, it seemed as though he had that all planned! Mama cat stated to clean him as he nursed. She showed a lot of love towards her "unique" baby boy. No rejection there! We watched his brothers and sisters playing among the bushes and flowers, and were still fighting back tears watching this tiny creature (he was definitely the runt) struggle just to walk a foot or two.

I knew we would be taking him home, although I was still verbally saying "No, we really can't bring home another cat." Heather finally said "Well, let's go home and think about it." We almost walked away. I couldn't bear to leave him there, and I know it was tearing Heather up. I said "Go get him." I worried all the way home because I know my mother would be livid. (She lives with us, and doesn't appreciate all the cats we have.)

I've always heard people with handicapped children say how lucky they are and how blessed they are to have that child. I guess I was just never in that position. NOW I know what they are talking about. We feel so blessed to have him in our lives. It kind of puts things into perspective-what's important, and what's really not. He's such a little miracle, and such a fighter. His previous owner said that when she would put food down, Buddy would be the first one up there, and would growl and raise a fuss to keep all the other kittens away. As soon as he got his fill, he would let the others eat. Even now, he's the only kitty eating from his dish, sometimes he kind of growls when he first starts eating. I hope he realizes pretty soon that no one is going to try to take his food from him. No one will ever hurt him, and he will be loved and cared for more than he could have ever imagined.
 
Beth Chase and Heather Strouth
Chillin' in his new pad!
Here he is playing with some of his other toys. He no longer has the mouse-well, he's hidden it somewhere!
This is Buddy's favorite toy! A Lambchop finger puppet! He also loves the laser pointer!
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