Mancat Monday

I'm hijacking Debra's title for my post today. Every Monday she has Mancat Monday, and usually Mr. Ping is the subject of her post. I have been wanting to show off Sarah's cats for a while and I thought today would be a good day. If you've read here for a while, you know that Sarah had to put her beloved Tucker to sleep some time ago. She gave a very loving tribute to him here.

Before Tucker ever got sick, Sarah decided that she would get another cat to be a companion to him. Thus, along came Samson, a furry friend that she met at Petsm*rt. She had the habit of going in to get her cat food and always stopped by to see the kitties who were up for adoption. Thus, along came Samson. He is a sweet-natured cat. The vet loves him. He's so easy-going and loves to play. He loves to be scratched under his chin, but he isn't too much for getting up in your lap.

When Tucker got sick, Sarah began to think about getting another cat, not to take his place by any means, but to have another one there to be Samson's companion, once Tucker was gone. Well, one day her friend told her about this black and white cat, again at Petsm*rt, who looked like he was begging for a home. So home he came.

"Mom, Monroe's not eating, and he won't come out of the closet," Sarah said one day. I told her to give him a little while, and he would warm up to everything. She finally took him to the vet and found out that he was one sick cat. His gums were infected, his ears were a mess...anyway, to make a long story short, $400 later, he is a healthy, happy cat. She jokingly told the vet that she was keeping him in business.

When we went to take Tucker for that fateful day, we got to talking to the vet about Monroe. She had not seen him, but she said, "Oh, I heard the techs talking about measuring his whiskers because they're so long." Monroe is a cuddler. He doesn't care to be in your lap too much, but when I was over kitty-sitting a couple of weeks ago, I lay down on the sofa, and he got right up beside me, all comfy.

When Sarah went through all she did to get him healthy, she said she was going to write the H*mane Society a letter to let them know how much it had cost her, but she said that when you adopt one, you sign a waiver. My thought about all that is that if they can spay or neuter and put in a micro-chip, they could take the time to check them over otherwise. Maybe he slipped by. At any rate, he is a wonderful cat, as is Samson.

Tucker

Tucker came into my daughter's life six years ago. She had moved to her college town to live and work for a while. One day one of her coworkers at the bank told her that a pregnant cat had come to her house, she fed her, and, of course, the cat stayed. When the cat delivered her kittens, Sarah was determined to have one of them.

She was renting a house, and pets were not permitted. So she wrote her landlady a letter, pleading with her to please let her have a cat. She would make sure that the house was spic and span and without fleas whenever she decided to make a move.

Some time went by, and Sarah decided that she wanted to move back to Florida, so she packed up, and her dad and grandpa moved her and Tucker back home. She stayed with us until her house was ready to move into. Tucker spent his time in her bedroom because of our aging female Color. Whenever he got out and came downstairs where Color was, there was quite the confrontation. I was afraid our old cat would have a stroke with this other creature in the house. She was definitely a one-house cat.

A little while ago Sarah felt a mass in Tucker's side, took him to the vet, and it was decided that because he is as young as he is, surgery is definitely in order for him. Tomorrow afternoon Tucker will have surgery to have this mass removed. I almost feel funny asking prayer for a cat, but he is such an important part of Sarah's life. Sarah wouldn't mind a little bit of prayer for herself too. Thanks.