A (Cat's) Profile In Courage

I am amazed by the courage of cats. We all know the story of Scarlet and
how she continued to run back into a burning warehouse to rescue her kittens
even through her ears were burned to nubs. But I am also in awe of the
everyday, quiet courage displayed by the cats in our lives, like my Bandit,
who, though blind, continued to roam the house and take on all comers.
There is another brave little girl in my life now...

Little Tayla was thrown out when she became pregnant - she was made to pay
the price for her humans' stupidity, but she bore her kittens and cared for
them as best she could on scraps scrounged from garbage cans (and her little
body paid the price for her sacrifice, compromising her immune system and
making her ill).

Tayla and her kittens were picked up by strangers and brought to a place
with dozens of other cats trapped in cages all around her and barking dogs
in the background (PetsMart's dog training ring is kept right next to the
cat adoption center!!!) The rescue personnel were pretty sure she was
either treed by a dog or had to defend her kittens against one because she
went ballistic whenever a dog passed by her cage - but *NOT* trying to run
from them, she tried to get out and attack them!

Tayla was separated from her kittens as soon as they could be weaned (the
rescue personnel wanted them to be adopted without the adopter "having" to
take Tayla also - a cruel but necessary tactic to place as many cats as they
can). She tried, at every opportunity, to escape from her cage and get to
her kittens, but she watched them leave, one by one, until she was left
there alone in a cage with no more hope of ever seeing her kittens again.

When I knelt down by her cage, she looked up at me with her green, green
eyes and did not flinch as I reached out my hand to scratch her ears. She
didn't try to escape her cage - there was no reason to now that her kittens
had gone. She lay there resigned to her fate and watched me walk away and
leave her - she didn't know I was only going home to get Ben to come and see
her.

Tayla was put into a tiny cardboard box, and because the rescue was so busy
had to stay in that box for over 2 hours (cats and kittens were coming in so
fast they needed her cage). The cardboard box was then picked up and
carried into a larger, noisy box, and then carried into a strange place
smelling of strange cats.

I was expecting Tayla to dash out of the box when it was opened and hide
under the nearest piece of furniture for at least a week or so. But Tayla
surprised me again! She jumped out of her cardboard prison and immediately
walked over to me and gave me a head-but! Then she walked over the where
Ben was sitting on the floor and climbed onto his lap and rolled over onto
her back for belly rubs!!!

Ever since we brought her home she has been loving, patient when we have to
give her medicine, and she purrs every time she sees either one of us. The
only
time I've seen her look even a little worried was when we had to put her in
a carrier to take her to the vet - and even then she was calm and didn't
panic, she just gave a few worried and inquisitive meows.

Tayla, after having been treated so horribly by humans, after having beewn
thrown out to fend for herself and her kittens, after being separated from
her kittens, after all the scary things that were done to her, showed me the
greatest courage I've ever known - the courage to trust and to love again.
I
can only hope to live up to her faith in me and reward her love with a love
as great as a mere human can give in return.


--
Hugs,

CatNipped

See all my masters he http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/

"CatNipped" wrote
I was expecting Tayla to dash out of the box when it was opened and hide
under the nearest piece of furniture for at least a week or so. But Tayla
surprised me again! She jumped out of her cardboard prison and
immediately
walked over to me and gave me a head-but! Then she walked over the where
Ben was sitting on the floor and climbed onto his lap and rolled over onto
her back for belly rubs!!!

My Gracie walked out of the carrier, flopped down on her side, stretched her
little
skinny body and put her ears back and yawned. (We joke that she is
usually 20 inches long but 6 feet 2 inches long when she stretched.) Then
she
looked all around, still stretched out, like, "whoah, nice digs!" I had the
distinct
impression that her cramped quarters at the shelter where she lived for four
months really bothered her.

She just explored and never hid at all! Like your Tayla, she was on her own
when she had her kittens, in a trailer park in a small town near here.

Later that first night she lay at the foot of the big bed and played and
chased her
tail like a maniac!


Ever since we brought her home she has been loving, patient when we have
to
give her medicine, and she purrs every time she sees either one of us.
The only
time I've seen her look even a little worried was when we had to put her
in
a carrier to take her to the vet - and even then she was calm and didn't
panic, she just gave a few worried and inquisitive meows.

Gracie also seemed to be worried that she was not going to be kept, the
first time I put her in her carrier. It was heart wrenching.


Tayla, after having been treated so horribly by humans, after having beewn
thrown out to fend for herself and her kittens, after being separated from
her kittens, after all the scary things that were done to her, showed me
the
greatest courage I've ever known - the courage to trust and to love again.
I
can only hope to live up to her faith in me and reward her love with a
love
as great as a mere human can give in return.

You are such a doll.

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"CatNipped" wrote
I was expecting Tayla to dash out of the box when it was opened and hide
under the nearest piece of furniture for at least a week or so. But
Tayla
surprised me again! She jumped out of her cardboard prison and
immediately
walked over to me and gave me a head-but! Then she walked over the where
Ben was sitting on the floor and climbed onto his lap and rolled over
onto
her back for belly rubs!!!

My Gracie walked out of the carrier, flopped down on her side, stretched
her little
skinny body and put her ears back and yawned. (We joke that she is
usually 20 inches long but 6 feet 2 inches long when she stretched.) Then
she
looked all around, still stretched out, like, "whoah, nice digs!" I had
the distinct
impression that her cramped quarters at the shelter where she lived for
four
months really bothered her.

She just explored and never hid at all! Like your Tayla, she was on her
own
when she had her kittens, in a trailer park in a small town near here.

Hah! Another trailer park hussy!! Little tramps - all they need is a tube
top and a cigarette hanging from their lips!!! ;

Hugs,

CatNipped


Later that first night she lay at the foot of the big bed and played and
chased her
tail like a maniac!


Ever since we brought her home she has been loving, patient when we have
to
give her medicine, and she purrs every time she sees either one of us.
The only
time I've seen her look even a little worried was when we had to put her
in
a carrier to take her to the vet - and even then she was calm and didn't
panic, she just gave a few worried and inquisitive meows.

Gracie also seemed to be worried that she was not going to be kept, the
first time I put her in her carrier. It was heart wrenching.


Tayla, after having been treated so horribly by humans, after having
beewn
thrown out to fend for herself and her kittens, after being separated
from
her kittens, after all the scary things that were done to her, showed me
the
greatest courage I've ever known - the courage to trust and to love
again. I
can only hope to live up to her faith in me and reward her love with a
love
as great as a mere human can give in return.

You are such a doll.

On 27 Jun, 20:12, "CatNipped" wrote:
"cybercat" wrote in message

...







"CatNipped" wrote
I was expecting Tayla to dash out of the box when it was opened and hide
under the nearest piece of furniture for at least a week or so. But
Tayla
surprised me again! She jumped out of her cardboard prison and
immediately
walked over to me and gave me a head-but! Then she walked over the where
Ben was sitting on the floor and climbed onto his lap and rolled over
onto
her back for belly rubs!!!

My Gracie walked out of the carrier, flopped down on her side, stretched
her little
skinny body and put her ears back and yawned. (We joke that she is
usually 20 inches long but 6 feet 2 inches long when she stretched.) Then
she
looked all around, still stretched out, like, "whoah, nice digs!" I had
the distinct
impression that her cramped quarters at the shelter where she lived for
four
months really bothered her.

She just explored and never hid at all! Like your Tayla, she was on her
own
when she had her kittens, in a trailer park in a small town near here.

Hah! Another trailer park hussy!! Little tramps - all they need is a tube
top and a cigarette hanging from their lips!!! ;

Hugs,

CatNipped





Later that first night she lay at the foot of the big bed and played and
chased her
tail like a maniac!

Ever since we brought her home she has been loving, patient when we have
to
give her medicine, and she purrs every time she sees either one of us.
The only
time I've seen her look even a little worried was when we had to put her
in
a carrier to take her to the vet - and even then she was calm and didn't
panic, she just gave a few worried and inquisitive meows.

Gracie also seemed to be worried that she was not going to be kept, the
first time I put her in her carrier. It was heart wrenching.

Tayla, after having been treated so horribly by humans, after having
beewn
thrown out to fend for herself and her kittens, after being separated
from
her kittens, after all the scary things that were done to her, showed me
the
greatest courage I've ever known - the courage to trust and to love
again. I
can only hope to live up to her faith in me and reward her love with a
love
as great as a mere human can give in return.

You are such a doll.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

i hate humans, they suck

It's such a shame that you were unable to adopt at least one of Tayla's
kittens (along with Tayla). What a tearjerker. Thank you.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
I am amazed by the courage of cats. We all know the story of Scarlet and
how she continued to run back into a burning warehouse to rescue her
kittens
even through her ears were burned to nubs. But I am also in awe of the
everyday, quiet courage displayed by the cats in our lives, like my
Bandit,
who, though blind, continued to roam the house and take on all comers.
There is another brave little girl in my life now...

Little Tayla was thrown out when she became pregnant - she was made to pay
the price for her humans' stupidity, but she bore her kittens and cared
for
them as best she could on scraps scrounged from garbage cans (and her
little
body paid the price for her sacrifice, compromising her immune system and
making her ill).

Tayla and her kittens were picked up by strangers and brought to a place
with dozens of other cats trapped in cages all around her and barking dogs
in the background (PetsMart's dog training ring is kept right next to the
cat adoption center!!!) The rescue personnel were pretty sure she was
either treed by a dog or had to defend her kittens against one because she
went ballistic whenever a dog passed by her cage - but *NOT* trying to run
from them, she tried to get out and attack them!

Tayla was separated from her kittens as soon as they could be weaned (the
rescue personnel wanted them to be adopted without the adopter "having" to
take Tayla also - a cruel but necessary tactic to place as many cats as
they
can). She tried, at every opportunity, to escape from her cage and get to
her kittens, but she watched them leave, one by one, until she was left
there alone in a cage with no more hope of ever seeing her kittens again.

When I knelt down by her cage, she looked up at me with her green, green
eyes and did not flinch as I reached out my hand to scratch her ears. She
didn't try to escape her cage - there was no reason to now that her
kittens
had gone. She lay there resigned to her fate and watched me walk away and
leave her - she didn't know I was only going home to get Ben to come and
see
her.

Tayla was put into a tiny cardboard box, and because the rescue was so
busy
had to stay in that box for over 2 hours (cats and kittens were coming in
so
fast they needed her cage). The cardboard box was then picked up and
carried into a larger, noisy box, and then carried into a strange place
smelling of strange cats.

I was expecting Tayla to dash out of the box when it was opened and hide
under the nearest piece of furniture for at least a week or so. But Tayla
surprised me again! She jumped out of her cardboard prison and
immediately
walked over to me and gave me a head-but! Then she walked over the where
Ben was sitting on the floor and climbed onto his lap and rolled over onto
her back for belly rubs!!!

Ever since we brought her home she has been loving, patient when we have
to
give her medicine, and she purrs every time she sees either one of us.
The only
time I've seen her look even a little worried was when we had to put her
in
a carrier to take her to the vet - and even then she was calm and didn't
panic, she just gave a few worried and inquisitive meows.

Tayla, after having been treated so horribly by humans, after having beewn
thrown out to fend for herself and her kittens, after being separated from
her kittens, after all the scary things that were done to her, showed me
the
greatest courage I've ever known - the courage to trust and to love again.
I
can only hope to live up to her faith in me and reward her love with a
love
as great as a mere human can give in return.


--
Hugs,

CatNipped

See all my masters he http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
I am amazed by the courage of cats. We all know the story of Scarlet and
how she continued to run back into a burning warehouse to rescue her
kittens
even through her ears were burned to nubs. But I am also in awe of the
everyday, quiet courage displayed by the cats in our lives, like my
Bandit,
who, though blind, continued to roam the house and take on all comers.
There is another brave little girl in my life now...

Wonderful story. I hope you put up some pictures of Tayla on your site
soon.

Isaac also immediately made himself at home when I let him out of his
carrier. Unlike Tayla, he wasn't abandoned to the streets by his original
owner but he was given to the big (NYC) city shelter. He was taken from
there by a smaller, no-kill shelter. I know he had been at the second
shelter for about a month before I adopted him. He had gotten sick at the
city shelter and wasn't 100% when I took him home, but they assured me that
he was pretty much over the bug he had caught. He got really sick about two
days later and I brought him back and was sent home with a whole bag of
medications. Within 2 weeks he was perfectly healthy again.

--
Liz

"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
...
"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
I am amazed by the courage of cats. We all know the story of Scarlet and
how she continued to run back into a burning warehouse to rescue her
kittens
even through her ears were burned to nubs. But I am also in awe of the
everyday, quiet courage displayed by the cats in our lives, like my
Bandit,
who, though blind, continued to roam the house and take on all comers.
There is another brave little girl in my life now...

Wonderful story. I hope you put up some pictures of Tayla on your site
soon.

Isaac also immediately made himself at home when I let him out of his
carrier. Unlike Tayla, he wasn't abandoned to the streets by his original
owner but he was given to the big (NYC) city shelter. He was taken from
there by a smaller, no-kill shelter. I know he had been at the second
shelter for about a month before I adopted him. He had gotten sick at the
city shelter and wasn't 100% when I took him home, but they assured me
that he was pretty much over the bug he had caught. He got really sick
about two days later and I brought him back and was sent home with a whole
bag of medications. Within 2 weeks he was perfectly healthy again.

--
Liz

Like the cobbler's sons who have no shoes - I am woefully lacking in
updating my web sites. I have some pictures of Tayla and the boys here,
http://www.possibleplaces.com/catnipped/new_arrivals/, along with video of
the boys playing (they're both the same footage, just that one's in MPEG
format and one's in Quicktime format). I can't promise to get their pages
up quickly, but I will definitely get more pictures up this weekend.

Hugs,

CatNipped

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
Like the cobbler's sons who have no shoes - I am woefully lacking in
updating my web sites. I have some pictures of Tayla and the boys here,
http://www.possibleplaces.com/catnipped/new_arrivals/, along with video of
the boys playing (they're both the same footage, just that one's in MPEG
format and one's in Quicktime format). I can't promise to get their pages
up quickly, but I will definitely get more pictures up this weekend.

Hugs,

CatNipped

She's got such wonderful markings!! She looks absolutely content in that
first picture. And the little orange guys are too cute for words!

--
Liz

CatNipped wrote:
Like the cobbler's sons who have no shoes - I am woefully lacking in
updating my web sites. I have some pictures of Tayla and the boys here,
http://www.possibleplaces.com/catnipped/new_arrivals/, along with video of
the boys playing (they're both the same footage, just that one's in MPEG
format and one's in Quicktime format). I can't promise to get their pages
up quickly, but I will definitely get more pictures up this weekend.

VERY cute!!

She looks like she will be a good kitty.
And who doesn't love an orangey baby(ies)???

-L.

"-L." wrote in message
ups.com...

CatNipped wrote:
Like the cobbler's sons who have no shoes - I am woefully lacking in
updating my web sites. I have some pictures of Tayla and the boys here,
http://www.possibleplaces.com/catnipped/new_arrivals/, along with video
of
the boys playing (they're both the same footage, just that one's in MPEG
format and one's in Quicktime format). I can't promise to get their
pages
up quickly, but I will definitely get more pictures up this weekend.

VERY cute!!

She looks like she will be a good kitty.
And who doesn't love an orangey baby(ies)???

-L.

Not me! I mean I do, um, I mean, er, well you know what I mean!!! ;

Hugs,

CatNipped