Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 12:41:46 -0500
From: nabooko
Subject: Baby – What a Christmas!
The exact year I can’t remember, but I am guessing it 1985- Christmas morning in Chatham County was a sheet of thin, slick ice. I was scheduled to drive from Pittsboro to Biscoe- thru the backroads, it was fifty miles or so. It was one of those days you could just guess that some sort of something was gonna fall from the sky. Rain, sleet, snow-
I was ready to leave by nine a.m.- car packed. The temperature was below or just at freezing. The Volvo engine wouldn’t even try to turn over. Big fast shift to my trusty old 1963 Chevy Pick-up. Straight drive but oh, so dependable.
As I locked the front door, I saw something out of the corner of my eye, at the end of the house. A kitten? A kitten at this time of year? It couldn’t have been over 5 weeks old. It disappeared as fast as I could turn my head. No footprints due to the ice. Well, I figured it was hungry. I left a bowl of good food at the spot I thought it had appeared.
Off to Biscoe, slick roads and pelting rain-sleet. Some of the time, I had to drive with truck half on pavement, half on the shoulder- for traction. It took twice as long for the drive- and I didn’t stay long for that Christmas visit. I was back home by dark- The first thing I did was check the bowl of food I left. Had not been touched- frozen solid.
A week went by and so sign of the kitten. New year’s day I awoke to a snow covered landscape. Very deep and unexpected. Near lunch time, I head a cry or meow outside. I went out and there across the way, on the porch of my antiques shop, was the kitten, apparently stranded. Once dressed, I trudged over, managed to get hold of the cat- but, it being wild, struggled, scratched free. It was so tiny, it was able to escape by walking on top the sleet covered snow. It disappeared around to the back of the building, into a crawl space.
I prepared more food that went untouched. Then, the second day, put out some very fishy smelling cat food- The kitten appeared, went to the food, but just sat there- apparently too ill to eat. I again managed to grab it- this time, it was too weak and ill to resist. Into the warm shop I went, placed the kitten in a cloth lined basket- which it left and hid under a bookcase. The snow was so deep, I couldn’t get out to take it to a vet. I relied on my reserve of antibotics (from other cat illness) and within a few days my new ‘baby’ was a little more friendly and actually had a loud purr.
Soon she was up and about and wanting to be my friend. With each day she became healthier and more fun. She was one of the smallest cats I have ever had.
For twenty years, Baby was a wonderful pet and a faithful companion. She died of old age 2005. But Baby, 1985- What a Christmas!
N.A. Booko
To see a pic of Baby, click on the web-link below: