Wednesday 4 November 2015

And Then There Were Three

Minerva and Morpheus Black



Mrs Black and her naughty kitten Isabella

We have been a family of two cats since November two years ago when Mrs Black, missing both her late husband Morpheus, and their much loved kitten Isabella,  decided to take in a lodger. He turned out to have quite a tale to tell. He was a distant relative of her late husband who had fallen on hard times when his elderly owner died and his old house was sold from under him. He had lived by various names but he explained in his letter to Mrs Black that his true name was Monsieur Munchkin Lestrange.

 

He very much regretted that the reputation of his ancient family had been tarnished by the behavior of cousin Bellatrix made famous when J.K Rowling collected the lore and wrote those Harry Potter books.

Mssr Lestrange potrait
by celebrated Dutch artist Marie Cecile Thijs
website HERE:

Munchkin had endured being cat napped from his home whie his mistress was gravely ill and bustled off to a new home 10 miles away. Desperate to return to his beloved mistress he escaped and wandered the miles between until some 6 months later he came home. Sadly his mistress had died. Cast out of his home by the new cruel owner who sent the dogs out to kill him, he took up residence in the gardens and solicited the assistance of a neighbour who had long admired the handsome half Maine Coon. Despite her family being allergic to cats, she fed him and helped him find Mrs Black. Nearly three years after the death of his mistress Munchkin finally came indoors to a life of total comfort.


Mssr. Munchkin Lestrange
Mrs Black adores him and is ever hopeful of some tale of his travel adventures, but he dislikes other cats preferring to spend his time in my studio at the bottom of the garden writing his memoirs, or overseeing the maintenance of the 13th century Norman church behind our cottage. Obviously after such tragic times he can be a little tetchy and cuddles must be kept to a minumum. He has been known to bite the hand that feeds! Two winters living outside in snow took their toll and he suffers arthritis but takes his medicine well, as long as there are treats to hand. He has a fierce hiss and growl (cat swearing) but thankfully there has been no sign of the dark spells which cousin Bellatrix was famous for.


Mssr Lestrange in the graveyard

Not being as companionable as Mrs Black had hoped she continued to long for a kitten to brighten her old age. One day, out of the blue, she said that if Munchkin were to pass on before her she would like, more than anything, to have a completely black kitten named Puff. I pondered this confession, and thought how typically considerate of her, knowing Munchkin hated other cats, she would wait until he had passed on. I mentally made a note to warn the husband that a black kitten may be in our future somewhere.


At the end of August while admiring the blood moon from a field at the bottom of our lane the husband and I noticed a young black cat catching a mouse. A bit startled by us she nevertheless carried the struggling mouse out of the field but she lost it in the lane. As I looked over towards her she meowed piteously and ran towards some old sheds which were once field shelters.

We then saw her about the village and in particular underneath our bird feeders at the front of our cottage. She was timid and would always run away. In mid-October things came to a head. Leaving the house to go out I saw the black cat jump onto the bird table to eat the fat balls which I had put out for the birds.

I put down a bowl of cat food. And so it began.

Cat shelter
made from old compost bin, newspaper 7 straw.

Two weeks later after building a cat shelter from an old bin and feeding twice a day, we enticed the cat into our cottage with a bowl of food and shut the door. Since then it has lived in our spare bedroom in order to determine it's state of health before introducing it to Mrs Black and Munchkin.

The black cat is a she, between 6-9 months and absolutely, completely, black. Everywhere.


Her name is, of course, Puff. It seems that Mrs Black has been doing some conjuring and the magic of the season helped her to guide this poor homeless waif to her.

Puff passed initial vet checks but we anxiously waited the blood test results to be certain that she was clear of Feline Leukemia (FeLV) and Feline Aids.  Both Mrs Black and Munchin have compromised immune systems and very heartbreakingly were Puff to have one of the fatal cat diseases she could not stay with us. It would be too much of a risk to them.



Introducing Puff.


There was much celebrating when our vet rang to give us the all clear. Puff is not micro chipped, and we have no history for her. She is timid and frightened of people and although she will cuddle and purr she hides under the chest of drawers when we are not in the room and shies away when you first extend a hand. She has probably been lost or abandoned since a small kitten, but must have at some point been handled and loved for she is not completely feral. We are quite sad that whoever may have owned her before will not know that she is safe and loved not just by us but by Mrs Black.

The vet is unable to be sure if she has been spayed so we must wait and watch to see if she comes into heat. She could even be already pregnant, if she is, it is too early to tell. She is underweight and infested with parasites from the birds and mice which she ate to survive. She must be a very brave and remarkable cat to be able to look after herself from such a young age. But she will be fine and soon introductions can take place between her and Mrs Black. Munchkin no doubt will be completely unimpressed and insist this young cat has no access to 'his' studio in his garden.

We will need to hone our photography skills in order to get good images of Puff, she is so dark.


We are very grateful for being able to help this beautiful homeless cat.



37 comments:

  1. How wonderful for you! Gorgeous cats!

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  2. What a lovely story! You are such kind, wonderful people (and cats) to take them in! Good luck with her getting on with the others!

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    1. Thank you Laura. You know what good company that cats are. Keeping all paws crossed they all like one another. x

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  3. What an addition to your family! Hope all are healthy.

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  4. Puff would be a super witch's cat! :D

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    1. Ha ha, she would, so black. We think she is Madame Puff, the daughter of Ming the Merciless. She has oriental eyes, and terribly sharp little talons! x

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  5. Lovely story and written so imaginatively! Compelling read! Eagerly awaiting the next chapter. Pets, both cats and dogs, have so much to tell about their previous lives before we miraculously met them.💚 I wish my Sweetie Pie could write his own memoirs as his first owners must have been very loving.

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    1. Thank you Karin! Our cats tell us all kinds of things ..... which we usually struggle to understand.

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  6. Good luck to you with this new cat! This is one homeless cat who has found a very good cat home! We lost our black cat a few years back, I miss her.

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    1. Kay, So sorry about your black cat, sad to lose a companion like that. x

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  7. What a wonderful story! I'm missing our ginger boy. I hope another turns up soon. Two's fabulous, three's even better! xxx

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    1. Vix, thank you! I miss hearing about your lovely Ginger Alan too, that was so unfair. Three is better! x

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  8. I love your stories ... nothing like the truth! :) My very first kitty was a black male named (of course) ... Magic. He lived with me for 22 years. What a talker he was! A house is not a home without a cat ... or three ... or more! Wonderful post.

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    1. Snap, thank you! Magic is a great name for a black cat and 22 is a grand age too.

      PS, Of course it is the truth ...... the whole truth from a cat's view. x

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  9. Dearest LeeAnn,
    Isn't this heart breaking to watch a tiny kitten struggle for life?
    One wanders what all happened to her.
    Like losing the Human Parent because of death is heart breaking to any kitten.
    So glad you took in this lost soul and now two...
    Sending you hugs and blessings.
    Mariette

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    1. Dear Mariette, It is so very sad how people and animals suffer in this world. I find it hard to keep faith, but then we can take joy from small things. Thank you. x

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  10. I hope Puff settles in nicely for you and her fellow kittehs. We have a few feral cats around here, but I'm allergic so I've never tried to entice one into the cottage. It is sad to think about them not having a family, or food or a warm place to sleep in the winter.

    P.S. That portrait of Mssr Lestrange is magnificent!

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    1. I am allergic to horses, another great love of mine. I cannot even be in the vicinity of horses without becoming ill, drives me crazy. Cats would love your place, so sad. We are cursed! I always feel for feral cats and have helped them all of my life. Mssr Lestrange thanks you, he loves his portrait. She is a very talented artist. x

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  11. LeeAnn, Again, I am so thrilled to have found your blog and reading your story of Puff and the other cats was fantastic! I know you are not on Facebook much so I don't know if you realized that I took in a Black cat that had been stray to the neighborhood for at least 2 years. About a month after my beloved Sunny passed, the black cat got brave enough to approach our back deck. This was in July. I started putting out food for him and he began showing up every night. It took until September until he would finally let me pet him, even though he was still hesitant at first. I also believe that he was someone's cat at some early point in his life and not completely feral. Even though he was very scared at first, he now has become very close to me, rubbing my legs and purring up a storm. Not allowed to bring him into the house but I have a nice place for him in our shed, with the door always propped open for him to go into at any time. I know this poor thing has roamed the neighborhood for 2 years and of course Sunny would never let him get close, but now that Sunny has passed, I have gained a new friend! I figured it was time that his luck changed. A good meal every day and a warm shelter. How he survived our last two (long and cold) winters is beyond me! He is dubbed "Zoso Kitty" (are you surprised? haha!) Good luck with all of your kitties and hopefully they all will get along! Or at least, tolerate each other! ;) *wink*
    Sharon xx

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    1. Sharon! Wonderful that you found me here. I've been following your black cat friend, and of course the name is great! I am so pleased you have the black cat. ;~) xxxx

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  12. What a lovely family of cats you have Leeann! I enjoyed reading your story.

    Have a good weekend!

    Madelief x

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  13. You’re such a good story-teller. I haven’t had cats but only dogs, but I consider myself a dog lover with cat personality. I like the cat shelter you made. Have happy days with Puff ahead.

    Yoko

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    1. Thank you so much. I love your description of being a dog lover with a cat personality. I love dogs also but have not often lived in a way in which I could share my life with them. xx

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  14. Hello again,( this is Jane the eccentric booklady in my other guise) I loved the story of Puff. I too have a great adoration for black cats. I owned a gentleman called Ooloo, who loved me dearly. He spent a lot of the time I was pregnant sitting on my bump. My husband joked that as a witch, he was my familiar and probably the true father of the child I was expecting. Well.. Emily was born with a head of black hair ( we're all blond) and...black furry ears!
    So, I agree with you, cats are magical beings and it is best to never underestimate their powers. Jane xxx

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    1. Great to hear from you Jane! And such a good story about your black cat too. ;~)
      I love his name, it reminds me of some of the spells and cants from New Orleans. x

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  15. Congrats on your new beauty! I am also trying to figure out how to get good photos of our new black kitty. And btw, I found three cats got along better than two! Be careful though, it's a slippery slope and you could end up at 17 like me! ;)

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  16. Lovely family cats, greeting from Belgium

    Blog Mons my city in Belgium: http://louisette.eklablog.com

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  17. Oh precious Puff, what a resilient, strong, beautiful cat. Thank the universe that she came to you and that you've been able to help give her a new lease on life. May you all enjoy many wonderful years together.

    Giant hugs to everyone!
    ♥ Jessica

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  18. What Beautiful Stories of your Fur Babies Adopting you! We too were a haven for the Feral and Abandoned Felines in our old Neighborhood... every one of our Fur Babies came to us that way, including the lone one we have left, Miss Priss. She seems content now to be the only one doted upon... and Thankfully in our New Neighborhood there are no forsaken animals and all pets in the area are Loved and well Cared for. *Whew!* Being the bleeding Hearts that we are it was always problematic to turn any away or find better Homes for them you see... now that our Cat Ministry of sorts is over it is rather a relief. But I so did Enjoy your Stories of how each of your Beloved Fur Babies has arrived and Claimed you as their own! Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

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  19. This is such a lovely story! You both are blessed for having each other! She`s a beauty!!!

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  20. Such a lovely tale with a happy ending! Munchkin looks very much at home, so beautiful even though a little unapproachable! ;) I would love to have a cat again one day although sadly my husband is dead against it. By the way, my daughter used to have a hamster called Puff, a great name! xx

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  21. What a lovely story of your expanding cat family and how good Puff was rescued by you. My favorite photo here is of the autumn leaves as a background for Mssr. Lastrange's beautiful coat.

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  22. I love reading all of your comments and each one means a great deal to me, but I do not always have time to reply to everyone. Thank you so much to every one of you! x

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  23. Those are wonderful stories and your cats are clever to realise that they have found such a lovely home and owners. The two cats we have had have been strays and we know that the hard times they have faced can affect them for many years after. Sarah x

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