The-Story---Day-11

Credits:
Artsy Journal Templates 6 by SWL
Cattitude Elements by Pink Reptile Designs
Fancy Neutral Papers by Pink Reptile Designs
Today Elements by Pink Reptile Designs
Tator's Meow Mix by Mommyish
Kitteh Papers and Elements by Allison Pennington

Journaling:
All of our cats are rescue cats. This means we brought them home from a legitimate rescue agency. But Mozart, or Mo as we call him . . . was a direct rescue from a farm.

Late fall of 2019, we participated in a outdoor meal at a local farm. The event was fabulous, sitting at a long table in the middle of a field of sunflowers, enjoying a true harvest meal on the farm where the food was raised. As we were lingering around the wine table, someone exclaimed - a kitten. My husband looked at me and said “that’s all you.” We found this single, tiny, sick kitten who braved walking underfoot in this mass of people as if crying for help. Most of the attendees didn’t even want to touch him.

He was sick - his eyes were swollen and filled with mucus, he was smelly and oh so thin. Yet, he literally curled against me as I brought him to my chest. There was no way I could just put him down and walk away. So he came home with us .. to meet our other three cats.

I took him to the vet, who cautioned us to keep him from the other cats until we could treat his parasites and determine his health. Antibiotics took care of his respiratory infection. The vet said without treatment, he would have only lasted a few more days. Within a week, his personality began to bloom as his health improved. He completely won our hearts. He still wheezes and even snores. The vet suspects he had some lung damage.

Our alpha male seemed as smitten with him as we were. He would position himself as if guarding Mo. He seemed almost mesmerized by his playful antics. As Mo grew, Mario was his wrestling coach. Mia, our girl with social
anxiety began to emerge to witness this tiny fluff of fur. He has helped her become more playful.

As covid locked us down less than six months after bringing Mo home, I was so very grateful to have him here,distracting me from the chaos of the world. He never strays far from me. Brad has spent time reading and learning cat behavior. Using this knowledge, he has built toys and towers for Mo.

Mo has not grown very big. The vet said it is because he was so sick as a baby. Now that he’s well over a year old, he looks like he’s only about six months old. But I like this petite size. There is absolutely no fear and the most innocent, curious nature about him. He wants to be in the middle of everything we do. I’ll admit that I don’t require the same manners as I have our others. He is allowed on the counter while I prepare food, but he knows to wait until food is offered. The only exception is greens. He can’t help himself and will take anyopportunity to swipe a piece of lettuce.

By now, he understands our routines and even the sound of our cars. He runs to the door to greet my son when he comes home from work each
day. I’ve taught him to catch treats in the air. He bats a ball back to me and is the best spider catcher I’ve known. This tiny, sad kitten has grown to be one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received. He makes me laugh daily. I think that I needed him as much as he needed me.