Saturday, October 25, 2014

Frankie and Felipe

Some years ago we had a mama cat who kept her babies hidden for so long that they were almost impossible to tame. I couldn't get close enough to tell if they were male or female, but they needed names. My younger daughter suggested Fred and Ginger, and the names stuck. Later, realizing they were both female, I changed Fred to Freddie. (I had a girlfriend in high school whose nickname was Freddie, so it worked for me.)

It was a long, slow process, but I could finally pet both Freddie and Ginger - on their terms, and only briefly, of course. They were always loners and never integrated with the other cats or even hung out together. Each went her own way.

I fed Freddie by herself, in the granary, every morning and evening. This spring, I was pretty certain she had had babies, but, no matter how I searched, I was never able to find them. Then one morning, there they sat, in full view, just looking at me.
Finally getting my hands on the little darlings, I "ascertained" they were both female and named them Frankie (on the left) and Felicia. My, they were wild little things. Petting them when I could or grabbing them when they weren't expecting it, I did my best to tame them. In the "grabbing" process, I found out that Felicia was a male. He is now Felipe.

One morning, having captured Felipe, I noticed he had a hole on the underside of his neck. Yes, a bald patch with quite a large hole down to and into his flesh! I showed him to Weldon and he thought perhaps it was one of those weird worms that are in (or can get into?) an animal and work their way out. Ick. Don't ask me. I don't want to know any more about it, even though I've seen it.

So! Taking matters into my own hands, I once again called on Farnam's Blue Lotion. (See my first experience with Blue Lotion here.
I daubed it on Felipe's neck and, as often as I could get my hands on him, applied it again. It worked in more ways than one: his neck healed perfectly and he became my friend.
Freddie (on the left) and her babies eat outside the granary now.

Freddie, Frankie, and Felipe would sit on the steps of the granary, waiting for their food. After a while, that wasn't good enough for Felipe. He'd run down the road to meet me, and I'd stop to pet him. Pretty soon, Frankie joined in the race with Mama Freddie bringing up the rear at a more matronly pace. I'd stoop down and pet Felipe, but when I reached out to Frankie, she'd scoot ahead a few steps. Then she'd stop and wait for me. I'd bend down and she'd scoot away. She wanted the same love and affection but wasn't quite brave enough to stay put. Silly girl.

But now? The race is on! Every morning and evening they fly down the road like the wind to greet me, and I can pet both of them and pick them up and hug them. I would have never believed it possible!
I love my kitty cats! Our kitty cats!

P.S. We have five adorable gray kitties still waiting for their forever home. Do, Re (the only male), Mi, Fa, and So (So slow. She was always the last to come when we called). Anyway, we can't tell them apart, thus their strange names. They all look like this one (except they're a little bigger now):

Let me know how many you want.