Cats Are Family is trending on Twitter, so I thought I'd repost my blog about my two sweet kitties...and my dog, because he's family too!
I come from a long line of animal lovers, and growing
up, we never had less than three pets at a time. Generally, in my adult home, that’s how many
we still have, although we’ve occasionally had four. I’m passionate about rescuing shelter
animals, so I try to balance my desire to “save them all” versus the reality of
the size of our house, but right now we have two cats and one dog, and everyone
gets along well.
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| A pet triangle on the couch. Don't worry, guys, I'll find another place to sit... |
Otis came to us via PetFinder, a wonderful website
that connects people looking to adopt a pet with animals available either in
their area or even farther away, if transportation is available. When we found Otis, I was looking for a
younger dog, since we already had an older dog at home. With two teenage boys and a husband who loves
to jog long distances, we thought we would be a good fit for a more active dog
that needed plenty of exercise. Otis at
the time was a 6-week-old puppy, likely a Border collie mix, who was found by
the side of a highway in Alabama, along with his brother and mother. A kind person brought them to a vet before
they could get hit by a car, and from there, they made their way to foster care
and were put up for adoption. Once our
application was approved, Otis (and his brother, Milo) were transported to New
England via an amazing tag team of volunteers who take turns driving animals
from states with overpopulated shelters to states with room to spare or new
families already waiting.
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| This was a tough case to crack |
As a puppy, Otis would nap under the stool I sit on at
the kitchen island that serves as my writing desk. Knowing my tendency to lose myself in my
fictional world, I would make sure a leash connected him to the stool’s leg so
I would know he wasn’t sneaking off and getting into trouble. Apparently he’s smarter than I am, because he
quietly chewed though three leashes to sneak off without me knowing. For the most part, socks, gloves, and papers were
the only losses, but those were the puppy days of mischief and teething. Now, Otis is a well-mannered and beloved part
of our household.
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| Otis and Jinx |
Our cats came to us via a local shelter. About a year after Otis joined us, our beloved 17-year-old cat passed away, 4 years after his brother. I was devastated. But I knew it was an opportunity to provide a
forever home to some cats in need. I
like to adopt cats who are already in bonded pairs, as they can sometimes be
more difficult to place. And I
particularly love black cats, which might be related to my affinity for all
things considered spooky and mysterious.
After all, I do write stories set in haunted houses.
Jinx and Max are another set of brothers, littermates
who shelter volunteers hoped could be adopted together. They keep each other entertained with their sneak
attacks and their wrestling matches, and one thing they can agree on is that
they’re always hungry. They know how to
bring that to my attention, too—they take over my writing space if they feel
I’m not getting the message.
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| We interrupt this scene for a hungry alert |
Because I love pets so much, I tend to create characters
that also have animals. The heroine of
Haunted Souls is actually a vet tech, and she and her son have a rescued tabby
cat named Terrance. And when a ghost
follows them home from a haunted tour of an old jail, Terrance is immediately
aware that an otherworldly presence is in the house…
Thanks for stopping by, and share your furbaby stories below, I love comments :)
Thanks, Beth, it was your fabulous idea and I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to share my Furbaby Friday story!
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ReplyDeleteLoved hearing about your furbabies, Kathryn. I'm a dog and horse person, but love all animals, and over the years I've had several 'rescues'. My current doggy-child is snuggling behind me on my chair as I type. I also have a rescued 'ferel' cat who keeps the vermin away at the yard where I keep my two horses, he's quite shy, but sleeps on the land owner's bed when she stays the night in her trailer! Life would be so much poorer without our animal family members. I can't understand how some people can ill treat or callously abandon animals, they only ask for care and love and give so much back in return.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree, and thanks for sharing your furbabies' stories...my life would not be the same without my pets, and I also love all animals. Thanks for stopping by!
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