HOW I MET MY FURBABIES

Along comes Booboo.

So that December (96) I was downsized at work. We decided it was a good time to move to a new town. Before I left my former work place, there was someone from my company who was moving into a new house too. There they found that the previous owners had left behind (outside) a very cute grey and white kitty. They said they would come back for him but they never did.

They had also left behind in their basement their tenants dog with a cast on his leg. They forgot to tell the tenant that they were moving (????) and they were supposed to take care of the dog for him while he was away. So the women called the Animal Control because she didn’t know what to do with the dog. His owner later went and claimed him back.

Well, the women and her son were allergic to all pets and brought the kitty to work. I baby-sat him all day. At the end of the day another person took him home. The next day she brought him back because her husband had said “no way”.

So I took him home with me. Here I was unemployed, Shadow was very ill and we were moving. At first my husband said no, but I cried that we couldn’t turn him away and he knew in his heart that Kitty and Shadow wouldn’t be with us much longer and relented. Someone at work had named him Smokey, but I started calling him Booboo (it's his love name. Well, I took him to the vets for all his tests and needles. Turned out he had ear mites that took us 6 weeks to clear up.

But he had a very important role to play in our future.

When Kitty and Shadow passed away he was there for us, to comfort us and for us to hug cause we were very heart sore. But he was lonely too for kitty companionship.

So now comes the story of Baby Riley.

Here I was in a new town, unemployed, heartsick because we had lost two kitties within a month of moving and feeling very sad and depressed.

Well, I had to go get kitty food and walked into an independent pet store that also happened to play host to the local no-kill cat shelter. An as soon as I opened the door the cutest orange and white tabby baby runs up to me purring all the way. He also brought his mousie with him, because he loves to play fetch with mousies. I asked about him but was told he was already spoken for. So I asked if I could leave my name anyway and every day I would go in and play with him (the pet store owner allowed this) and grew to love him more.

Well, about a week later they tracked down the women who said “Oh I’ve gotten another kitty and don’t want that one any more." When I got home from one of my job search days, there was this wonderful message saying Riley was ours.

When I brought him home I left him in the carrier so that his first meeting with Booboo would go well. Well needless to say we were stunned that Booboo wasn’t hissing at the new Baby.

It had taken Kitty and Shadow a little over a week to like each other and Shadow never really was fond of Booboo (poor Kitty was blind and deaf by then and his sense of smell was no longer working and he didn’t notice Booboo was in the house).

But when I took Riley out of the carrier Booboo started to play kissy face with him. He is the most gentle big boy kitty there ever was. Which was what Riley needed because he was a bottle baby and is very sweet, but naughty as orange boys are. Who ever left behind Booboo miss out on having the most gentle cat in the world. He is a very good big brofur.

So remember everyone, that the stray that finds its way into your life maybe the sweetest kitty you ever find. No matter where you might find him or her, deserted outside or at a shelter please give them a home and you will never regret it. They will love you with all their hearts unconditionally and you can't ask for much more in this crazy world.