Thursday, March 27, 2008

Kiss Me Kate

As you can see in this pic, Katherine is pretty beat up.  The vet thinks there were several events that led up to her condition--abrasions, possibly from being thrown out of or hit by a car, some scratches and possibly a bite from one or more fights.  Despite this she's in good shape.  She's negative for feline leukemia and feline HIV, so she's roaming the house now.

I have yet to meet a cat that's as non-plussed by everything as Katherine.  When Huntress hisses and growls, Katherine ignores her.  She'll walk up to anyone for attention.  She purrs readily.  She's wary of but not afraid of Dakota.  She explores with complete fearlessness.  She's faithful about using a litterbox and loves people.  She's quiet and polite.  I can't imagine that this cat has ever been neglected or abused because of her temperament and the fact that she's reasonably well-fed, but then there are the recent injuries all over her face and the fact that she's not home, wherever home was.  A large scab is peeling off her lip.  She's raw and she was so hungry when we took her in that she went straight for the food, halting in her assault only briefly to lap up water before eating more.  I don't know who didn't want this cat.  I can't imagine her running away from anyone.  She has no interest in going outside, and her curiosity is entirely for her immediate surroundings.  If you close a door on her, she doesn't paw at it or even wait beside it.  She moves on.  In the cat carrier on the way to and from the vet she curled up and took a nap.  

The only thing that's really thrown her off were clippers.  She decided she was not getting her belly shaved under any circumstances, and so she still has all her hair.  Unfortunately that means that we don't know if she's been spayed or not, but the vet is thinking not.  That means there's a chance she's pregnant, of course.  If she's not, she'll be spayed on May 1.  That will give us enough time to find out if the little miss has been running around with the bad boys.  If she is, well, looks like we'll be having kittens around here.  One is already spoken for and we don't even know if she's having any yet.  She's that lovely of a cat.  I've seen more beautiful cats, friendlier cats, cats with more grace and dignity.  Katherine has an amazing something about her.  No, several somethings.  Patience.  Kindness.  Trust--amazing trust.  Peacefulness.  Acceptance.  She has an iron strength at her core and a self-assurance that blows me away.  If she has kittens with even half of her qualities, they'll be truly wonderful pets.

But for her sake I'm hoping she's not pregnant.  We won't force the matter if she is pregnant.  I think it would be traumatic to have an abortion/spay event, plus I have this thing about giving unborn things a chance at life if the circumstances allow for a little joy and comfort, or at least the hope of a good life.  I think she'd be better off without kittens, though.  She's young, we can't tell how young, and she's been through a lot.  She could stand to have some time to heal without the added pressure of a pregnancy.

Katherine has found cat paperwork at the SW Washington Humane Society in case anyone is looking for her.  Unfortunately she has no microchip, so if there's a family missing her desperately out there, that will make it harder to track her down.  We'll call in an ad in the paper tomorrow.  

4 comments:

The Moody Minstrel said...

Such a sweet and well-behaved thing, and she just happens to wander into your garage in the cold, beaten up and vulnerable.

Hmm....

Kami said...

It sounds too coincidental, doesn't it? I can just see the strays having a meeting.

"Okay guys, just rough me up a little and I'm in."
"You're crazy! Why would you want to be in a stinky human house anyway?"
"Trust me. Unlimited food, it's warm, it's dry, and I know they have catnip. So hit me. Go ahead. Right in the face. Make it look real."

C.S. said...

Katherine. Doesn't that name, in some countries, translate loosely to something like "Keep Me?"

sophie said...

MM and K - exactly. And it's not the first time it's happened either which makes this even weirder...

I have her twin: http://2bsophora.blogspot.com/2008/02/whos-boss.html

Sounds like a similar nature too - Dorey turned up at my cow shed in December, at about 10 weeks old, and has tamed perfectly.

There isn't an easy way to tell if they're pregnant, is there? I'd hate for the vet to find out by cutting her open, but she's only just old enough for speying and comes and goes freely.
I think Katherine looks a little younger, though it's hard to tell from photos.

I really don't want anyone to turn up with a legitimate reason for having misplaced her; she's part of the family now. A couple of months ago, yeah, but not now.
regolith