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plonqAt one time, we used to head out almost every weekend to explore different parts of Manitoba. Initially we would go driving in the Probe, then we would take the Volkswagen after we swapped out the former for the latter.
We had both been lamenting of late how we had fallen out of that habit - our weekends seem to be full of other stuff these days. Since we had no other plans this weekend, we hopped into the car and drove up to the ruins of the Pinawa dam that they retired back in the early 50s. We did not know what to expect, but what we found was pleasant hiking and some surprisingly photogenic scenery.
As I walked past Merry on my way to bed this evening, I had to turn around and come back here to post an entry. She was lying on her back, back legs splayed in all directions in the hopes of procuring some belly rubs. It occurred to me that our fat, lazy, belly-rub loving cat had come a long way from the foster kitten we adopted.
It also occurred to me that if Pippin had survived, we likely would not have adopted this kitten. Part of what drew us to Merry was her tragic back story. She and her brother were orphaned kittens, who the shelter had paired up with a cat who lad lost her own kittens. She took to them right away, and cared for them like they were her own. She was actually a very personable cat, and one of my favourites of the cats we fostered.
When we brought home the fosters, there were two kittens; a larger female one that we named Merry, and her smaller brother who we named Pippin. They were both active and playful when we brought them home, though Pippin had (as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
atara described it) a poopy butt. That is not entirely unusual in foster cats, as there are often bugs making the rounds at the shelter. Unfortunately it became clear over the next few days that he was not improving, but becoming weak and miserable.
atara took him back to the shelter to see if they could help, but their vet ruled it as "failure to thrive". There was nothing we could have done differently to have changed the outcome. Merry thrived though, and by the time we took her and her adoptive mother back to the shelter, she was a bouncy, healthy kitten.
Two weeks later when nobody had adopted her yet, we went down there and adopted her ourselves. We had promised ourselves that we would not get into the habit of adopting cats that we fostered, but we had grown particularly fond of Merry, and she got along really well with Belladonna while we'd had her. She still does.
And that's how we ended up with this.
We had both been lamenting of late how we had fallen out of that habit - our weekends seem to be full of other stuff these days. Since we had no other plans this weekend, we hopped into the car and drove up to the ruins of the Pinawa dam that they retired back in the early 50s. We did not know what to expect, but what we found was pleasant hiking and some surprisingly photogenic scenery.
As I walked past Merry on my way to bed this evening, I had to turn around and come back here to post an entry. She was lying on her back, back legs splayed in all directions in the hopes of procuring some belly rubs. It occurred to me that our fat, lazy, belly-rub loving cat had come a long way from the foster kitten we adopted.
It also occurred to me that if Pippin had survived, we likely would not have adopted this kitten. Part of what drew us to Merry was her tragic back story. She and her brother were orphaned kittens, who the shelter had paired up with a cat who lad lost her own kittens. She took to them right away, and cared for them like they were her own. She was actually a very personable cat, and one of my favourites of the cats we fostered.
When we brought home the fosters, there were two kittens; a larger female one that we named Merry, and her smaller brother who we named Pippin. They were both active and playful when we brought them home, though Pippin had (as
atara described it) a poopy butt. That is not entirely unusual in foster cats, as there are often bugs making the rounds at the shelter. Unfortunately it became clear over the next few days that he was not improving, but becoming weak and miserable.atara took him back to the shelter to see if they could help, but their vet ruled it as "failure to thrive". There was nothing we could have done differently to have changed the outcome. Merry thrived though, and by the time we took her and her adoptive mother back to the shelter, she was a bouncy, healthy kitten.Two weeks later when nobody had adopted her yet, we went down there and adopted her ourselves. We had promised ourselves that we would not get into the habit of adopting cats that we fostered, but we had grown particularly fond of Merry, and she got along really well with Belladonna while we'd had her. She still does.
And that's how we ended up with this.
