Before and After

Minnie liked my cooking. It was spring, the door was open and I was in the kitchen cooking. Suddenly I heard the most God awful squalling and saw this rack of bones hanging mid-way on the screen door. She was filthy,scrawny, matted , wild eyed, and demanding. When I unhooked her from the screen, it was like lifting a bird. She was pitifully light. There was nothing to her but hollow bones and fur. I had worked years in animal rescue and had never seen a cat this bad. Unlike a dog, a cat can usually make a fair living as a feral creature. Minnie obviously was too feminine , aristocratic, or unskilled to hunt and kill.

Normally I would have taken her to the Humane Society which is almost a "no kill shelter" here. However, as sorry as she was, I knew she would be slated for euthanasia. Decided I would fatten her up for about a week then take her in.

She tried valiantly but could not hold food on her stomach. The vet checked her and recommended feeding a teaspoon hourly till she adjusted. She was worm free and with no discernible illness, just extreme starvation. She stayed isolated from my other pets in my large shed for almost a month before she could finally eat with out throwing up. By then the Humane Society was out, we were attached.

For a while she actually flirted with morbid obesity. As much as I would have loved to let her become a 50 pound cat after her start in life, she (as we all are here) is on a diet. She is now, as we are, pleasingly plump.

Minnie has a wonderful personality, very loving but if I could find the perfect home, I would part with her. My cats live into their 20's and with me being almost 70, she could well outlive me. No hurry for now. She gets along wonderfully with Mickey and Mighty Dog so we can wait for the perfect home.

Mighty Dog and Mickey are for another day.