This And That...

I love animals. All animals except bugs and bats. I draw the line at things that have such good 'sonar' that they fly right into you. And trust me, they do. I know, bugs are not animals, but, whatever. Anyway, the one animal I've never been extremely crazy about is cats. It's not that I didn't like them, I was just never a cat person. When the girls were growing up, we usually had a cat of some sort, mostly because Ashley loves cats and would constantly bring one home. I didn't usually pay much attention to them as it was the girls job to take care of it. The point of my story is coming. So, when we moved here 3 years ago, and we live beside Ashley.  Ashley had a cat that I actually fell in love with. Whiskers was an indoor/outdoor cat. A great big girl who happened to be pregnant at the time. Once we moved in, she began to come to our house instead of Ashley's. I liked her, so I couldn't turn her away, and she never went to Ashley's house again! We all just accepted it and I would actually look for her at night and worry if she didn't come home. I began to really love this cat. When it came time for her to have her babies, we made a bed for her in the bottom shelf in the kitchen, which she loved. She ended up having 5 healthy and diversely coloured babies. I really didn't pay that much attention to the babies, but she was a good mother. Eventually, Ashley said she was finding a home for them. And she did. But, somehow, we ended up with Noel, a beautiful little black and white kitten. One day, I realized that Whiskers had been gone from home too long. I just knew in my gut that something was wrong. We looked for her several times that day. Hubby came in from outside and told me that she was under our car and wouldn't come out. I ran outside and laid on the ground to have a look. Just one look told me she was hurt, as she was panting and wouldn't move. My heart broke. The only way to get her out from under the car was to pull her out by the tail. I did so, as quickly, but as gently as possible. She screamed in pain. I carefully scooped her up and we made a soft bed for her. Once we had her comfortable, I had a good look at her. There was no blood, but you could tell she was terribly broken inside. Internal injuries. For sure she was hit by a car. It was too late to find a vet, so I stayed awake with her most of the night. She seemed alright as long as she didn't move. Of course, we took her to the vet first thing the next morning and it was as I thought. We had to have her put down, and it broke my heart. I was surprised at how upset I was about it, because I have never bothered about a cat before.
Whiskers was gone, but at least we had one of her offspring. But can you have 2 cats as good as Whisker? I am flabbergasted to report that Noel is the best cat I've ever seen. He's as sweet as Whiskers, but he's an indoor cat only, so I don't have to worry. I honestly love him with my whole heart. And he's totally a mommy's cat. He loves me too. Amazing! I now love cats! All I can say is that, Whiskers and now Noel, have been wonderful ambassadors for cats.
By the way, here is a picture of Ashley's new cat. She's about as pretty a cat as I've ever seen, but my heart is with Noel.

I almost forgot to report the good news that my heart is completely fine. Yay!