CK and Pooh
By Ann M Lindaman ©Big green eyes peered out from underneath her momentary shelter, watching as he got closer and closer. Hungry and afraid, she moved slightly backwards to hide but her movement caught his eyes. Slowing his bicycle down, he could see that the creature was small but had the biggest eyes he’d ever seen. All boy but soft in nature, CK stopped his bike to investigate the little animal. He called to her, but she didn’t come out. She was so afraid. She had gotten separated from her Mom, brothers and sisters and had been looking for them for what seemed like eternity. If only she hadn’t wandered off.
The softness in the boy’s voice made her feel a little safer and she wondered if perhaps he could help her get back home, so she slowly started to creep out from underneath the car. CK kept softly calling and in a few minutes, out came a frightened little kitten! Suddenly she heard the sound of an approaching car and didn’t know if she should run back underneath the parked car or to the boy who had now laid his bike in the grass and was crouching down, gently coaxing her toward him. With a giant leap of faith, she ran to the young boy who scooped her up and held her close.
“What do we have here?” CK asked, to which the kitten just looked at him with her big beautiful eyes. Besides her enormous eyes, her fur had the most unique markings and colors that CK had ever seen. Earthen tones of oak and mahogany covered her back and the sharp contrast of her snow white chest, stomach and legs was stunning. A strip of oak on one side of her nose and another strip of mahogany running down the other side and the lines of dark rich chocolate enhanced her already big beautiful eyes. She was beautiful but there was one thing missing. “Where’s your tail?” CK exclaimed!
Again, no response from the kitten except that she had began to purr a little bit. CK knew of no other kittens that didn’t have a tail. He had another cat at home and she had a long fluffy tail. CK’s Grandma also had a cat, and he had a long tail. Then CK felt a chill run through him. He was sure that someone evil had cut her tail off! He decided that she should be protected so he held her close and climbed onto his bike and began his ride home.
The kitten was frightened. She’s never been on a bike before. But the boy was holding her so lovingly that she decided that she was ok. Maybe he was taking her back to the safety of her Mom. Oh, if only she had listened to her Mom and hadn’t wandered off! She certainly had everything a kitten needed. Her Mom had fed her, bathed her and given her love. Oh sure, she had a couple of fights with her brothers and sisters, and her Mom had scolded her now and then, but she now knew why her Mom had scolded her for wandering off. It was safe at home! The kitten wondered if she would ever be safe again.
The bike was slowing down, and rolling into a drive. The kitten looked around, but nothing seemed familiar. Suddenly she was very frightened again and tried to leap from CK’s arms, but he was holding her close and firmly. She looked up at him with her eyes even wider than before but he kept softly telling her that everything was going to be ok.
As they entered the house, CK suddenly wondered if everything really would be ok. He rescued the cat from what he thought was someones evil doing but now he was wondering how he was going to convince his Mom and Dad that he should keep this little kitten. His Mom and Dad were at work, so he had a little time to strategize. Figuring that the kitten must be hungry CK poured some milk into a bowl and placed it on the floor. Then he scooped up a handful of cat food and placed it next to the milk. The kitten was famished! She had been eating garbage and a few days ago she was so hungry that she caught a mouse and ate it. She had been longing for the milk that her mother provided but she instinctively knew that she had to eat to survive, so she ate whatever she could find.
Suddenly, from out of nowhere came a big white fluffy cat. The kitten looked up from her meal, not wanting to stop eating but the bigger cat didn’t look very happy. Oh no, was she eating her food, she wondered? There was no time to explain because the bigger fluffy cat’s hair was standing straight up on her back and she started to make a blood curdling sound followed by much hissing! “Tiffany” CK shouted, “don’t act like that! This little kitten was hungry and alone and look at this!” CK said, pointing to her stubby tail. “Someone cut her tail off! We need to take care of her Tiffany”! Well, Tiffany would have no part in this! She wailed and hissed once more in her loudest voice and then turned and hid under the bed. “The nerve of that kid, bringing that little beast into this house…my house! Plus the smell! I’ve never smelled anything so foul in all my life” Tiffany thought.
CK grew a little worried. Tiffany sure wasn’t happy about the rescue. He wondered how his Mom and Dad would react. He knew they wouldn’t growl and hiss but he wasn’t too sure they’d let him keep her either. Especially when Tiffany was the families pet and she was obviously enraged at his idea of keeping the kitten. He picked the kitten up and held her. “Peeeewooooo! Is that you that smells like that”? While they were outside with the breeze he hadn’t noticed how bad she smelled. He knew cats didn’t like baths, so he was unsure of how to make her smell better.
Later when his parents came home, CK had a lot of convincing to do. They tried to tell him that she was born without a tail. He didn’t believe them. He had convinced himself that someone had purposely cut her tail off and he felt that he needed to protect her. After much pleading and his parents looking the kitten over, it had to be her eyes. Those eyes were so big and beautiful that when his Mom and Dad looked into them, they fell in love too.
But they were concerned about Tiffany. She was getting older and was set in her ways and she had been their pet for years. Her reaction to the kitten didn’t get any better as the day went on. Plus where had the kitten been? Did she have any diseases that she could give Tiffany? Not to mention the smell! “Peeeeewooooo!” CK’s Mom said as she held the kitten. “Peeeeewooooo!” CK’s Dad said when he held the kitten. And his sister had the same reaction. “Peeeeewooooo! Where did you find this stinky thing?”
CK’s Mom and Dad were both soft natured like CK. They didn’t think that they should let her live there, but they couldn’t just turn her loose either. So, they decided to take the kitten to the Vet for her necessary immunizations and let her stay there until they found a good home for her. The Vet also assured CK that she was born without a tail. CK still wasn’t convinced, but realized he wasn’t going to win that argument. The Vet asked if the kitten had a name. They hadn’t named her but because she smelled so bad, everyone’s reaction was the same when the picked her up so they called her Pooh.
After explaining to Tiffany that the kitten wouldn’t be staying forever, her motherly instincts took over and she decided that to find Pooh a home, she was going to have to look better and smell better so she began to bathe Pooh. For days she licked her and licked her, trying to get her coat clean and smelling better. It was a lot of work on Tiffany’s part, but she knew that if she had any chance at all of getting this kitten out of here for good, she was going to have to make her look and smell better. Otherwise, who would want her? After a few days of this, Pooh grew weary of being held down with one or sometimes two of Tiffany’s paws and being cleaned, and decided it was time to play. Tiffany would have none of this! “We have much work to do! We must get you cleaned up so that we can find you a new home, one that’s far away from here!” Tiffany thought to herself. The growling began again and then the hissing. Pooh realized that she would have to obey Tiffany if she had any chance of sticking around this house.
So Pooh let Tiffany hold her down and clean her for as long as she wanted and it wasn’t long before they would fall asleep cuddled together. And it wasn’t long before Pooh became part of the family. Pooh lived a long happy life with CK’s family.
I wrote this story for our grandson's second birthday. Pooh is nearly 19 years old and in poor health. I wanted him to know how his Daddy saved Pooh and brought her into our lives. We would have lost her several years ago if it hadn't been for a fantastic Vet! Casey saved her once and Dr Madsen saved her a second time. We know her time is limited, but we're grateful for every day. She's so much a part of our family.
Sad note: On April 5th, 2011 our sweet Pooh passed away. She was 21 years old and my hope of having our youngest Grandson know Pooh came to be. He was so tender with her and loved her as we all did. There's a hole in our hearts but at the same time we feel so blessed that she lived her 21 years with us. She had a beautiful soul and completed our family as pets often do. Pooh is gone but will never ever be forgotten.