I brought my house about 7 years ago and there seemed to be a lot of strays around. There were always kittens so I started working with a rescue group and I would live trap the kittens, then socialize them. The rescue would then take them, get them vet checked and adopt them out.
A couple of years ago in the month of July there were kittens next door at a house that had been empty for a while. Out by the garage there were kittens that appeared to be around 5 weeks old. I contact the rescue group and let them know about the kittens. There were four of them. There was a yellow kitten, a calico kitten, a tortoiseshell and a black kitten.
I went and got my live trap and set it up near the garage and baited it with canned cat food. Within 24 hours I had rounded up all the kittens. They were scared and wild.
I place them in a large wire dog create with food, water, litter box and a place to hide. During the day I would work with them and get them use to be handled. It took a couple of weeks for 3 of them to turn around. The little black one refused to be handled. Did not want to be touched. He would flatten his ears, and growl and try to hide. I gave him special attention and he would just flatten out and lay his ears back. No matter what I did he just would not come around. In another week the other three kittens were ready to go to rescue. When I talked to Chris who handled the kittens for the rescue group I told her that I was holding one of them back as I could not get him to come around. After I took the other kittens to Chris, I thought the black one would begin to come around. Another week went by and no luck, so a friend suggested, why don’t you just give him the run of the house with the older cats. So I did as she suggested.
After about 2 weeks I finally had a little success and I was able to communicate with him and get him to respond. He even attempted to play.
I started calling him Jedi. As the days went by he starting being a normal kitten, he was still a little unsure and would run if he was startled but he was doing good.
It has now been two years and as you most likely guessed Jedi stayed and become part of my family. He really turned out to be a sweet kitten and its been a joy seeing him grow up. We bonded and he adopted me.
Jedi is 2 and half years old now. He loves attention, he will talk to me and sometimes sleep on the pillow next to me. When I go to the back door to let the dogs out he will jump up on the end of the counter and rub his head on the door and me to be petted.
He still has some feral ways to him and does not like to be cuddled or if I moved wrong he will run. He has come a long ways and he developed into a beautiful cat. I had him neutered and he has never been outside. Below is a photo that I took in December of 2009.
I have worked with animals and rescue cats for many years. Many have come and gone in my life. Every once in a while there is that special one who captures your heart right away. On this occasion it was a cat named Elizabeth!!
I received a call from a fellow cat rescue friend for a cat that needed a foster home. They had calico that needed to be fostered and all the other homes were full. I know you already have several cats of your own but this little girl really needs a place to stay for a while. Can you foster her? I thought a minute and asked for how long? Just long enough for another foster home to become available.
I said OK and set up a time to go pick her up.
Little did I know, this sweet little girl had a special magic about her that would totally capture my heart. I pulled into the driveway of my friends home and we talked for a while. She then took me to meet Elizabeth.
Elizabeth sat in a corner of a small kennel with her head down. I said she looks sad, My friend called to her and Elizabeth lifted her head and our eyes met. I felt an energy leave her and go directly to my heart. She was remarkably beautiful. Makes me wonder how such a lovely creature could end up on the streets and in need of a home.
I took a closer look at her and said she does not look to be a Calico, my friend responded I’m not sure, that is what they told me. She had beautiful blue eyes and was mostly whites with some patches of different shades of brown. I said you know I have seen this type of cat before and I think they call them a Snowshoe Siamese.
I went out to my car to get the cat carrier I had brought with me. My friend had took Elizabeth from her holding kennel and placed her in the cat carrier. I then left and went home with my temporary foster.
As the days went by, Elizabeth did more that capture my heart she over took it with her loving sweet personality. She followed me around like a dog and slept with me under the covers. I did some research online and discovered I was right. She was a Snowshoe Siamese. As I did more research I found out Snowshoes are generally affectionate and sweet-tempered, yet very mellow. They enjoy the company of humans and being petted. Snowshoes are very social and docile, and show great devotion and love towards their owners. Well, that is true, Elizabeth sure showed me great devotion. As I got to know this sweet little girl I knew she was not going to be a foster anymore, she was going to be part of my family. Did I need her, no, but she had captured my heart.
We have really bonded and she has made herself right at home. She thinks she is the Cat’s Meow! The photo to the right is where she climbed up the step ladder when I was redoing my bathroom. She still sleeps with me at night and is always there to greet me when I come home.
