Petidote of the Day 2012-03-23

Miss B.B.

Today's Petidote is from Correntian ohio, who answered our pleas for more pet pictures with the lovely Miss B.B., part of an extended feral cat family. Thank you, ohio -- for taking care of them and for sharing them with us. Hat tip coming at ya!! And now for the tale (tail?) of Miss B.B. and company:

Miss B.B. is a feral cat who has decided I don’t suck.

She was one of two kittens born a couple of years ago. Her mama, Erica, is a tortoiseshell who is kinda crazy, but B.B. and her brother, Stormy, are quite sweet. Erica’s previous litter were two kittens named Mandrake and Rodney. Mandrake because of the shrieking when the fab GF caught him once (oh. my. gawd. the noise.) and Rodney because the cat looked like a Rodney. Most orange tabbies like Rodney are boys but we found out that Rodney is a girl. But the name fits---she looks like a Rodney. And when she runs, the front half goes a different direction than the back half.

Mandrake disappeared. Miss B.B.’s sire, Boris, was euthanized. We have a catch and release program but cats that are FELV+ or with similar health issues that would be impossible for us to manage and would lead to an ugly, painful death, we ask the vet to get out the red vial. Major Tom was euthanized for the same reason. It’s crappy and I hate it, but I’d hate worse them suffering.

Boris was a big old tom and B.B. looks a lot like him. Except she was tiny. Like, maybe five pounds after she was a year old. I started giving her special treats because she was so little. She is now about two years old and weighs maybe nine pounds. She still gets special treats, one of which is letting me pet her. I even was allowed to pick her up once. But just the once. And I don’t think I was supposed to tell anybody and now I’m in trouble.

Stormy will also allow us to pet him. He goes to get the mail with the fab GF every morning and will nip her pants’ legs because he thinks it’s funny. He is solidly, completely, thoroughly gray, even his whiskers, except for five white hairs in a spot on his back. He has no fur on his ears while Miss B.B., Rodney, and Erica have lots of fur and little tufts.

Yes, we give them all names. It’s easier than saying things like, “You know that one cat who gives you the stink-eye* all the time, but not the one with the big spot but with the spot that looks like Antaractica? Yeah, he’s hungry.” And yes, we have little shelters for them so they can get out of the rain and cold.

*We caught Stink-Eye and had him neutered. He stayed here for a while but I think he’s living in the neighbor’s barn. Rodney lives next door in a shed and when J.T. goes out to work on his reclaimed stone, she sits under a cedar tree and watches him. For hours. Like he’s her TV. B.B. lives in the mini-horse barn down the hill at the neighbors or with Rodney in the neighbor’s shed, and when I call, she will come running and stop five feet away like, “Oh, I was coming over to sit in this spot. You’re here, too?”

The fab GF says I should explain how B.B. thinks I’m funny. She will follow me around outside to watch me work. And when she gets upset with me she will give me this “meeee---ew” that’s the saddest sound. Like she just pities me for being a no-good two-legger.

***************************************************
Readers, please send twig (twig4now@gmail.com) images and stories for the ongoing Petidote of the Day series. Dog, cat, lizard, fish, ferret, monkey -- it doesn't even have to be your pet. Just take a picture of some animal and make up a story. See, we're easy to please and desperate, always a winning combination. Just kidding -- we'd like to meet your pet, that's all. Email me. Please. I'm waiting ....

Click on the image to see a larger version. Click here to see the entire series.