TOBOE The treasure of my life, my best friend, my closest companion is Toboe(TOH-BOH-EH). Toboe is a 65 lb yellow dog. Smart as a whip, gentle as a lamb and infinitely patient, compassionate and understanding. No one I've ever met can hold a candle to the purity of Toboe's soul. We've been together since his birth on July 14 2007. He was my playmate through school. He was my rock during the turmoil of my younger years. He was my service dog following a traumatic event in my late teens. He was at my side wherever I went in life; from house to house, apartments, even an OTR truck as we traveled the country. We've had hundreds of adventures. Through thick and thin I've always been able to rely on him. He is always there. He carries my heart. KAYDITH My rescue baby, who's not much of a baby anymore, is Kaydith. She is a perfect little stone-grey cat. She and her sisters were born feral, but I took them in, and with the help of H.A.V.A.(WA) raised them into proper ladies. The other two kittens went to a wonderful home together, and their parents have stayed in touch with me through the years.
I kept little Kaydith because she was more of a loner, it wasn't cruel splitting her up from her sisters. I'd been wanting a cat for a long time but I couldn't find the right one, though not for a lack of trying. I had hoped one of the kittens would be "the one." And here she was. She wasn't as bonded with her sisters, but she bonded fast to me.
She was never your typical kitten, she had an old soul. She would rather observe her surroundings than run and play. She explored the world in a tentative way. But she absorbed everything she ever saw or heard. It is extremely easy to understand her, and she most definitely understands what I'm saying as well. And she listens. And she remembers, probably better than I do.
On her own, she became a shoulder cat. She politely asks to come up, and she'll jump into my arms, where I give her a small boost and she rests against my shoulder as I pet her. Then she steps onto my shoulders and lays down, wrapping herself around my neck, and I usually pet her with one hand a bit and go about my business, because she's really secure up there, I don't have to worry about her losing her balance.
Kaydith loves spinach. Crazy, right? Well, she's also a completely vegan cat. You can say what you want, but she's really healthy, and yep, she gets regular vet visits so I can prove it.
Kay-Kay, as I sometimes call her, is not at all shy, but she has a slow way of introducing herself to strangers. It takes a long time, for most people(day 1: next room, day2: doorway, day 3: around a corner, day 4: middle of room, day 5: walking past you, but will run if you try to pet her, etc.), but if you talk it out with her, she'll let you in very quickly. And when she does, she is a lovey lap cat. And she'll want you to pet her while she eats XD
Kaydith was a single daughter, with only her older canine brother Toboe in the picture, for a long time. So when my living situation greatly improved and I started fostering kittens, she did not like it. Very few cats won her favor immediately, and most others were not around long enough to ever get close to her. Eventually she mostly got over it. But tragically, there was once an orange kitten, abandoned twice over before he came to me, whom she fell in love with instantly. I have photos of them cuddling, something she's never done with another cat since. She doted on him and played with him. He was extremely loving to absolutely everyone, with a thundering purr.And yet, he could not be kept indoors. I tried everything, but it could not be stopped, and I live in town. He would rarely, if ever, use a litterbox, so besides maintaining a ludicrous amount of kitty boxes, my daily routine involved finding every mess and cleaning it. Eventually I started cutting out holes in the carpet. Now, if he had access to the outdoors, he would always go out to do his business. Even so, I had no solution to letting him out (and ONLY him) safely. He ended up going to a home with several other cats and a large wooded property that they all have free access to. It was the right fit for him, but I was sorry for Kaydith. I still am. |
