Well, I can’t do blog posts and not talk about my furry kids. I mentioned Pudge in one blog related to his teeth, and also Merlin on my ‘About’ page. I haven’t yet taken the time to tell you a little about them really, so I will try to do so now. I can’t neglect the two main characters from my book – Merlin, The Cat Who Thought He Wasn’t!
I had seen Pudge on www.Petfinder.com as I was searching for just the right kitty to adopt and bring into my home. I had always been a bit partial to orange cats so while looking daily at many kitties, I came across little Pudgie’s picture and though he had a lot more white on him than I was looking for, I found myself returning to his page over and over again.
Isn’t he a gorgeous boy?
I made arrangements with Lisa Shackett from Mary’s Kitty Korner to meet Pudge, so my mom and I were off to see if we’d be taking him home with us! When we got there, Pudge was a bit groggy and I couldn’t see what he was like, so I walked around the room and peeked in the other cages. I came upon a sweet little black & white boy, Merlin, who was so polite and was hoping to be taken from his cage. Most of the other kitties had a companion or two in their cages so Merlin looked especially lonely.
Waiting for a home..
So even though I couldn’t tell who Pudgie was exactly, we loaded him up and took him home. He had his hopes up after all, and we couldn’t dash his little spirits. (Well, in my mind anyway.) What a little playboy he was in the kitty sense of the word. He was a bundle of energy – never wanting to stop playing! He wasn’t a very trusting kitty about being held very long, but I wasn’t surprised in a way, as he was one of a group of 9 kitties rescued where it was doubtful that they each got much individual cuddling.
Over the following 3 months with Pudge, I periodically asked Lisa if Merlin had been adopted yet only to be saddened by the news that he had no takers. Something about Merlin had not only drawn me to him, but I discovered my mother had also been thinking of him. I asked Lisa to bring him over – the poor fella having been living in a cage for 5 months! It was to be on a trial basis to see if he and Pudge could get along with each other.
Well, what a challenge that was! These two kitties were not suited for each other, but eventually, we had peace. I just couldn’t send Merly back to his life in that cage! I will probably write a little about the methods that helped, at a later date. They still are a bit mismatched, but I guess they’ve come to terms mostly.
Merlin, was the funniest kitty to watch. He had been raised with only dogs, and he clearly demonstrated a more dog-like behavior. Right from the start, Merlin was clearly a couch potato and a snuggler – total opposite from his new brother, but he was always studying Pudge playing and jumping on things and very soon started to try things……a classic “copycat”. I could probably compare his attempts at play to be like a sumo wrestler attempting ballet. I couldn’t help but to laugh as I observed his methods.
And poor Merlin had a tapeworm, other worms, and a skin condition. The poor kitty. Pudge was in need of some good nutrition and his teeth had to be worked on as they were already becoming an issue even though he was very young.
Today, Pudge and Merlin are still not well-suited for each other, but they really do get along pretty well together. These are pictures of them a few years after being adopted.
Still gorgeous…
No more tapeworm
Merlin has lost weight since this picture was taken, but he still wants to constantly eat. They both love their many cozy beds and oodles of toys.
Brothers
When animals have such a bad start in life I feel I can never do enough for them to make up for the negligence and/or cruelty they were handed by heartless people.
It’s no wonder that I felt the need to tell their stories, and others to come, through my Rescued Animal Tails series of books. My two boys are in the first book, Merlin, The Cat Who Thought He Wasn’t.