When I first saw Bianca
on our deck I was not sure I was seeing a
kitten. It was after dark, and in the light
coming from the sliding doors, it looked
like just another cat, smaller, but not like
a kitten. We had been feeding her mother
Tortie, a stray Tortoiseshell cat for
several weeks but never gave it a thought
that we may be blessed with kittens. That
weekend, we confirmed in daylight that
Tortie indeed did have two kittens, and we
resolved to rescue them. So began our cat
odyssey.
Following carpal tunnel surgery on my right
hand, I purchased a small cage with a
swinging door and rigged it so I could pull
the door shut via a rope passing through the
sliding glass door. After hours of patient
waiting, anticipation, and fear that one
kitten had been scared off, we finally
managed to catch the first kitten, the one I
had been calling Bianca because of her
bright white chin, neck and chest. She was a
"dilute" or "muted" calico, having gray, tan
and white patches. Once we had her, I
started working to domesticate her. However,
knowing we had several additional kittens to
trap (another stray had presented 4 more
kittens to us by then), we purchased a
large, multi-level cage to keep them in
until they had been socialized, and given a
clean bill of health by our vet. This was
very important, as I still had my cat Pagos
upstairs, who was over 20 years old.
I came home over lunch to hold and talk to
her, spent time with her in the evenings
talking and handling her, and the effort
paid off. It got to the point that she
climbed out of the cage every time I opened
it, ending on my shoulder purring like
crazy. To this day, she is a very loving
friend. |
Bianca's Slide Show
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