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~ Welcome to Petwarmers ~
http://www.petwarmers.com

Stephanie and Brett were open to the idea of adding a cat or two
to the family. Brett got himself a "daddy's boy" -- and Stephanie
found a "mama's boy."
All's well that ends well!
Note: Let us hear from you if you have an opinion about what
dogs should eat. You'll see a short story below.
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MAMA'S BOY
by Stephanie Powers

I had two cats heading into their golden years when my husband
and I first met.
Brett had never owned cats but after seven years of dating he
loved Valentino and Australia as much as I did, and they loved him.
We were heartbroken when Aussie went to the Rainbow Bridge on
our first wedding anniversary and two years later, on our third
wedding anniversary, my Tino followed her.
Two years passed before we were ready to adopt again. I put the
word out to friends and family. Before long a friend came through.
Charlotte owned the kennel where she boarded dogs and had
rescued a mother cat and kittens from an abandoned barn. She was
looking for good homes so I called her. I told her we wanted an
outgoing kitten who could handle a lot of love.
"You're going to want Little Joey," she said.
Much to my surprise, Brett didn't want Little Joey. He didn't
like the idea of someone else choosing our kitten. We drove out to
the kennel anyway.
Three kittens were left for adoption. When Charlotte let them
out of their condo none of them gave me a second look but one
immediately jumped into Brett's arms and snuggled.
"This is the one I want," he stated. Little Joey had just
picked his new owner. The bond was instantaneous. They weren't even
going to let Charlotte say goodbye.
Brett and Little Joey, now renamed Leo, are inseparable. Leo
will leap onto Brett's shoulders giving him kisses on demand. He's
daddy's boy through and through. I was jealous.
Parking behind my office, located on a busy city street, I
started seeing a woman followed around by the most precocious tuxedo
kitten. He was tiny, yet full of attitude, and sometimes he would be
outside all by himself stalking birds and butterflies close to the
road. I prayed that he would survive.
Strangely, I was delivering papers to a client's business when I
met the kitten's owner doing odd jobs there.
"Your kitten is adorable," I told her.
"Do you want him?" she asked. "My landlord wants an extra $30 a
month for pets, so I'm getting rid of him."
Of course I wanted him, but Brett had just quit his job for a
better one that fell through and our health insurance had run out and
his medicine was $400 a month. Our money was tight. The timing was
terrible.
"I'll take him, but not until I can get an appointment with my
vet. Can you keep him for a few more days?" I asked.
That was Friday. On Monday, I walked over to her apartment with
my cat carrier. I wanted my new kitten to get used to it. That's
when I saw him poised on the very edge of the road ready to pounce on
a butterfly. Somehow, I managed to shoo him into her apartment.
"Please don't let him outside until I can come and get him," I
begged. I showed her what to do with the carrier, telling her I
would be back at 7:30am on Friday.
That was the slowest week of my life. Several times, on my way
to the post office I saw him sitting outside near the road, locked in
his carrier. Though safer, I didn't like that either. It cost $300
and a second trip to the vet that day, getting Leo caught up on his
shots and an overdue check-up before MooShoo came home with a clean
bill of health and a few hundred less fleas.
My MooShoo has never looked back and neither have we. Brett and
I fell in love with him that very first day. If you sneeze, he meows
"Bless you!"
Every morning, he leaps up on my knee light as a feather and
gives me a kiss on the lips and a love bite on my elbow. He sleeps
wedged so far underneath me I call him my little chicky. But best of
all, he's mama's boy through and through.

-- Stephanie Powers

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Stephanie is an accountant who lives in South Bend, Indiana. She and
her husband love all animals especially cats. She love stories and
pictures about animals and has recently become an avid bird watcher.
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