The Arrival of Reese (February, 2015)

because, no Clowder is complete without its own special Calico Cat .....

We were all so sad when we lost our beautiful Farah [Calico] Bear …. Who was certainly the most eccentric girl any of us has ever known.

Farah

But that didn’t mean we wanted to welcome a new cat into our home.

Pat said she agreed with all of us that ten resident felines were quite enough.

And then one day . . .

Pat read on Facebook about a little calico girl in need of fostering. 

Here is the picture that was posted on Facebook:

And here is the background story:   

In early January, during heavy snowfalls and intensely cold weather, this tame, sweet girl found her way to a home where a kind family took her in.

The kind family assumed the little calico girl was lost, so they advertised and advertised, hoping the little cat’s people would step forward to re-claim her.

But that did not happen.

And the little calico, although happy to be warm and well-fed, was afraid of the dog who lived in the house. 

Pat looked and looked at her picture on Facebook.

And Pat remembered how, in 2006, at a time when she and Henry intended only to foster kitties and not adopt anyone permanently, Pat met Farah, who was in very big trouble: 

 

Already a mature girl, suffering the painful side effects of having been declawed as a kitten, and terrified at having been dropped off to live in a kennel at the Prince Edward Island Humane Society, Farah screamed whenever anyone so much as looked at her.

No wonder, then, that Farah was thought to be un-adoptable.

Farah had run out of options.

So Pat, who was volunteering at the Humane Society, brought Farah home, and told her that she was welcome to be as cranky and unfriendly as she wished. 

For a long time Farah remained easily frightened, especially of all other cats. And when Farah was frightened, she SHRIEKED so loudly that we all ran for cover! 

But Pat and Henry loved her anyway, and Farah became the first of us to be permanently adopted.  

In time we all became accustomed to her funny ways, and now that she is gone, we miss our bright-eyed, cantankerous Fair-Bear.

To return to the story of the homeless little calico: 

Pat didn’t even tell Henry that a new cat would be arriving at our house on January 13.

Because no new cat joins us without being tested for contagious diseases, Pat had already made an appointment for her to go to the Charlottetown Veterinary Clinic that very afternoon.

Which turned out to be even more necessary than Pat realized, because when the little calico arrived at our house, Pat could see that she was limping badly.

When she was examined, it was clear that during her time outdoors, she had been attacked by a much larger animal, probably a coyote: there were deep bite marks on her right hind leg. 

And when she was x-rayed, the veterinarian saw something that he says he has never seen before: 

Although there were deep indentations where big teeth had penetrated into the bone, the leg did not break, nor did the wound become infected.  

We will always wonder:  how did this little girl manage to escape with her life?

She was immediately put on antibiotics and pain medicine and in a few days she was feeling much better.

Henry was at first unhappy to find a new cat living in the house, but soon he realized that he loved this sweet little calico who had been through so much.

In fact, it was Henry who decided that she should be called "Reese Cup-Cake."

The bigger problem was, whether Reese would get along with all of us other Pat’s Cats.

For over a week Reese lived inside a walk-in closet, with her own food and water and scratching post and blankets and litter box.

But for the past couple of weeks she has been free to roam the house with the rest of us. And although there have been a few stand-offs, and a few warning yelps, we are working things out.