Momma...

2/2/2012

​I decided to make my first entry into this journey of blogging about the amazing feeling it is when an animal decides to trust you. When moving into my current apt complex a year and a half ago there were several cats living outside. The two girls, Silky and Cali, were born here and my neighbor had them fixed and vaccinated long before I moved in. There was a boy named Bandit who has only one eye and then there was Momma…the mother of the two girls. Momma is a mess. Her coat is filthy, her tail thin, her whiskers caked with old food and who knows what. She has had a chronic mouth infection since the day I saw her and you can hear her breathing yards away. She has never been friendly, even to my neighbor who has been feeding her for years. Soon after moving in I set up a few shelters close-by for all the cats and Momma took to them in the winter, even though she would run when I approached to clean them or straighten them. At first she would run far away and leave, then over time she would run a few yars and then recently only a few feet. I have spent as much time sitting and talking to her as possible, but never trying to bother her beyond feeding her when my neighbor was not around. Her breathing became bad enough in the last few weeks that I managed to get my hands on some antibiotics for her. Of course, she disappeared for a week and I was not able to give them to her. Two nights ago she was sitting out front by the food bowls and I decided to take a chance and see if she would eat the food with the liquid. I slowly walked to her and crouched down. I opened the can, put the liquid in and slowly put the bowl under her face. She must have been overly hungry, or the medicine tasted good, because when I decided to put my hand out to pet her she didn’t flinch. In fact, she right there and then, became my friend. I spent the next hour feeding her, petting her and loving every minute of it. And so did she. She obviously hasn’t had any attention in forever, if at all, and purred up a storm. All the while her wheezing making loud noises in between the purring. Two days later she is now waiting for me when I get home and lets me walk right up to her. I have taken a warm wash cloth and wiped as much of her face as possible, although she warned me that I need to go slowly with that. Amd I am happy to do so. Tonight her infection seems a little better, her eyes a little less gooey and I can’t help but smile. I have taken in a lot of animals, taken care of colony of cats and even stalked ferals to save them, but the grand feeling of being able to help never goes away. Stay tuned to see how things go…</strong>

Momma Day 2:
<strong>Well, I just came back inside from sitting with Momma as I have the last few nights after work. She is now letting me pet her under her chin and all over without signs of biting, although I am still cautious. Unfortunately, the Clavamox is not working as well as I would have liked. Although, she is a little better for now. Once again, I had to explain to my neighbor that her fat belly is not because she is happy and fat, it is because she is unhealthy, has worms and God knows what. She was freaked out and asked me if Momma needd to be put down because of the worms….

Also, had to take a few minutes to explain that not all Pitties are bad after she commented about that they all need to move out of this neighborhood and that they are mean. Reminds me of my many years in the veterinary exmination room trying to educate the clients.

Anyawy, Momma is outside eating the rest of her third bowl of food. The only way I feel okay walking away from her is when she is eating.