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Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Littlest Spoon

The weekend after the barn fire last month (the same weekend Gracie broke her leg and was diagnosed with bone cancer), Eric and I had a quiet morning, just the two of us, taking care of the surviving horses at Oasis. One of the barn cats, Cat Food (yes, her name is Cat Food), was having her kittens. It was a moment of peace in a devastating week, and the new lives were like a little sign of hope for us. We decided it felt right to bring one of them home.

We decided on the fourth one born, a little tortoiseshell. I had watched her birth, went to groom one of the horses, and came back 15 minutes later to find Cat Food on top of her and her sac still on. I pulled off her sack and rubbed her a bit to get her breathing. As soon as she gave a little peep, Cat Food finally realized she was there and started taking care of her. I think I fell in love with her at that moment, too.

We picked her out when she was 15 minutes old and kept saying that she had better be cute. Well, we lucked out because she is adorable. We brought her home this past weekend, along with her grandma, Jessie (who stole her from Cat Food), and her week-younger uncle. They had come along on an awesome horse camping trip that weekend, so that we could give them the medicine they needed for conjunctivitis. I didn't want to miss her for a few more weeks, and Debbie agreed that they could all come home with us. We found a home for the little boy, Einstein, and he will leave us in a few weeks. Jessie will go back to the barn to be spayed. And our little girl will stay with us!

We decided to call her Charlie. I love little girls called Charlie, but we probably would not name a daughter Charlotte. I also thought it was fitting because Oasis barn cats often end up with the opposite gender name from kids naming them before an adult bothers to check the sex. Lizzy, he is one of the best cats ever. And Herman was such a good mom. At first Eric said no, but then he realized that she looks like "Charlie," a chocolate, peanut, coconut, and marshmallow bar that his grandpa makes at the holidays. It was perfect!

Charlie is doing well! She is not afraid of the dogs and tries to rub on them when she sees them. They love her, too! Cissy is interested but not sure what to make of her yet. We are keeping them apart until Charlie has been to the vet.

Here is a video of her yesterday morning in the Saturday morning cuddle pile. Webster isn't the littlest spoon anymore.







2 comments:

Daddy-O said...

Awwww. . . and here I thought that Charlie was at least partially named from being born right after a fire, AKA char. Can't wait to meet my new little grandkitty.

Lynette said...

Dad, you were there when we named her...