Minuit the cat ~April 08
Minuit the cat ~April 08
Cats have always sought me out. Even as a very young girl strange cats would come up to me or follow me home. They seem to know that I can't turn away from any animal in need especially cats. I have several friends with very shy cats who normally disappear when strangers come to their house. Their people are amazed when they make themselves visible when I'm visiting and often end up curled up in my lap purring happily. Maybe I was a cat in a past life...
Minuit is one such cat that showed up on our property in great need of help. He arrived a couple of years ago starving and emaciated. He was young, probably around 5 or 6 months old. I suspect he was dumped or abandoned. Minuit was so hungry that he allowed me to sit about 5 feet away from him and continuously put additional helpings of canned food on the plate I set out for him. He ate almost 3 cans of food without stopping and he is not a large cat!
I was very concerned for his well-being and surmised that he probably wasn't a very good hunter as there are plenty of small birds, mice, rats, gophers, etc in this area. In an impulsive and less than intelligent moment I reached out and grabbed him. He was very scared and I did receive some scratches, but he didn't try to bite or fight too much and I sensed some relief as his body started to relax in my arms.
Minuit was taken to our vet the next day for a complete check-up, flea and tick treatment, vaccinations, etc. He tested negative for all the nasty contagious and fatal feline diseases. He had a bad case of ear mites and I had to treat his ears 2x/day. Not an easy thing to do with a semi-feral cat. Minuit has a rather submissive nature so we worked out a routine when it was time for his medicine. He would hide in the top of one of our cat towers and I would reach in and apply the medicine to his ears. He never hissed, growled or tried to scratch or bite.
We were just getting rid of the mites when he had a minor altercation with one of our indoor cats which resulted in a scratched ear that developed a large hematoma. on the inside of his left ear. So back to the vet we go with poor Minuit. The vet had to put a drain in the wound and we were given more medicines for Minuit. This is why he has a Cauliflower Ear. Interestingly the cat that inflicted the wound is now Minuit's closest companion. He won over the other cats one by one by curling up next to them on cold nights, grooming them, inviting them to play, etc. He is a very Zen cat. Peace through non-violence is his way of life.
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