WebKittyn Warbles

It was five years ago today Darkstar rescued two drowning kittens outside of his store. It was raining heavily and they were in some drainage pipe or something. The water was filling up and the mother cat was trying to rescue them but there were too many and one was stuck on the fence (it was cutting into him). Mama cat made off with a kitten in her mouth and Darkstar went and saved the other two and brought them home.

One was healthy and full of energy and one was badly BADLY cut on his head and side. They were both about 4-5 weeks. We took them to the vet where the girl was declared fit and the boy was declared in bad shape. We took them home and Darkstar talked me into keeping the sick male, a scrawny half-dead grey and white thing. I wanted the girl, she looked like Claude but Darkstar convinced me and I trusted his instinct. Our friend Bob and his wife are cat people and they offered to take the girl into their home.

We moved a mattress out of the guestroom and plopped it in the middle of the living room floor next to the small litterbox. He made himself a home inside this cat condo we had and didn't move much. I had to give him 3 types of medication three times a day along with feeding him some milk stuff through a dropper and calorie paste. He would spend all day in that thing just peering at me until he'd wobble out to eat or use the box. His side was really gashed and his head was badly cut, it had to be god-awful painful.

Eventually he started to heal, it took about a month but he started to mend. He would let me hold him when he'd come out and he moved easier. I played mother cat, I actually licked his head and purred into his fur when I held him and I talked to him constantly.

We kept the mattress in the middle of the living room for three full months. I slept there nightly with the little guy and by the end of the third month he was sleeping with me. He started to play and run but he loved to hide in strange holes like a rat. He would hide from Darkstar and I'd go out there and call 'kitten kitten kitten' and out would pop this little grey head. Since he acted so much like a rat I decided to name him Templeton because I loved Charlotte's Web but even more I loved Paul Lynde's Templeton the rat. So he officially became Templeton the Rat Cat.

Over the past five years he's grown into a fat happy beast who has been there for me through every one of my most trying times. He helped me through the loss of Claude, my first cat. He helped me through losing the Great Catsby who I tried so hard to save. When my dad first got sick it was his fur I cried into at night begging the fates to make my dad better. When I went in the hospital I had his picture everywhere and I thought about going home to my Tempy. When my father died it was once again his fur that was saturated with tears, I think I almost drowned him. He's helped me accept the deaths of two people in my age range, one of whom was a very dear friend. When I get sad about the kidney failure or get to missing my dad he's right there making that 'wempy' noise he makes and licking my nose. I guess he's taking care of me.

My friend James said the other day how people who don't own pets just don't get it. He's right. Tempy isn't a pet. I have no children (my choice) and while I recognise the difference between a baby and a kitten, he IS my child. Out of the four cats, he's my alpha and my very best friend. I don't know what the past five years would have been like without Tempy, particularly the last two with all the sickness, death and sadness.

Darkstar had no idea he was bringing a feline saviour into the house that night five years ago but he did and every day even at my worst I remember to say thank you to Tempy for coming into my life.

Here's to the next five years, my fat grey alpha. You are my Tempy.

The little guy, hiding in his rat hole.



The big guy, the love of my life.