I have a new foster kitten. Her name is Bobbi. Here is her story…

I scared.

About 10 days ago I swear I saw a tiny black bunny running in the back yard. I watched the little thing try frantically to scramble under the fence and then jump on top of it to disappear. The reason I thought it was a bunny was the tail. Just a little nub. But I soon understood it was a kitten with a bobbed tail. I was very upset that I couldn’t catch her but there was nothing I could do but be sad. The next day I saw her again. This time she ran under my neighbor’s house. I called Traci and asked if I could go under her house to set a humane trap and of course she said yes.  That night Jim set the trap with some stinky cat food and put a warm blanket inside and a heavy rug on top of the trap. We went out to dinner, and when we came home we had a kitten.

I still scared.

We set up the kitten nursery in our sitting room off our master bedroom. There’s a futon in there and she mostly stays under it. Jim has to shimmy underneath (I am not really made for “shimmying”). She was absolutely terrified of us but Jim was able to catch her and hold her tight for some “mandatory love”. It’s the only way we know how to tame wild kittens and it usually works within a few days. Jim examined her and saw she was a girl. He also looked closely at her poor little tail. It’s been broken and it has somehow healed up crooked. I shudder to think how this could have happened and how much she must have suffered while when it was injured. It’s only about two inches long and has a little bend in the middle. Imagine a thumb hitch-hiking.

Maybe not so scared now.

We watch TV in the evenings upstairs and Jim aggressively pets and scratches her for the whole time. She seems to enjoy it and even purrs a little, but as soon as he lets go-BAM she’s off and back under the futon. She comes out to eat and use her litter box (only one accident the very first night). She has no idea how to play. She probably has been using every ounce of her energy to survive for the first eight weeks of her life. We sent in the professional kitten whisperer yesterday for the first time to begin his rigorous kitten-training method.

Listen kid. Here’s how we do things around here.

I thought she’d be terrified the first time she saw another cat, but no. She mewed and ran right up to him and nuzzled her head into his side. Sweet Mulder. He is a cat among cats. I saw a tiny sign of progress this morning when I looked into the sitting room and saw her sitting ON TOP of the futon. Baby steps Miss Bobbi. We’ll make a proper kitten out of you soon.

Brave Bobbi!

My heart breaks for this little girl and you can believe I’m going to use shameless begging to find her a forever home. I can never take her to the shelter because her chances of getting adopted are slim. Open your hearts people. Find room in your family for this little orphan! Please.

I’ll close with a couple of photos of my casa. Here’s the completed front porch…

Looking west toward the lake

Looking east up the street.

And in keeping with the kitty theme today, here’s a picture of my foyer closet.

Actually we don’t have a foyer closet, but these guys do a great job!

More on Bobbi and more house stuff later this week. Thanks for reading!