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We took in two of her boys last year, and got a third adopted out. They were caught as soon as they were weaned (They came around for kitten chow) and are really good house cats. They fit right in with our old black tomcat, and younger female Tuxedo.
Mutt-Mutt showed up later. He came to my door one night about two weeks after we caught his brother Jeff; we thought he had taken off. Scratching at the door, I let him in, and he ran into the kitchen to get some food.
Both my son and I were surprised, as he had always been the kitten that was stand-offish.
Then we noticed his tail hanging down. It was broken at the base of his spine, and in the middle the fur had been worn completely off, as it was twisted around. He was walking with a limp, and his gait was otherwise odd. I knew he had been hit by a car recently, and was starving. He was rail-thin. He ate as much as he could, took a dump in the litter box, walked into the front room and with his front paws, pulled himself onto my easy chair, and promptly fell asleep.
I wanted to cry. He was a beautiful brown tortoiseshell, but he was so banged up.
We took him to our vet, and he sent us to a specialist. She said that she would do more harm than good, and told us to take him home and 'make him comfortable'. He had a fractured right femur, a displaced pelvis, and his tail was non-functional. The X-rays were downright ugly.
Two months later living with us, we took him back to our vet for shots and tests for worms, FeL, etc. Our vet was amazed. Mutt-Mutt was running around, and had regained some use of his tail, enough to thump it against my leg when he wants attention. He chases his brother around the house with reckless abandon, and never seems to have any pain. Nine lives, indeed.
Our vet told us that he was going to start sending his sick felines home with us to recuperate after an illness/injury. He said that he'd never seen a cat that hurt recover enough to have a decent life, let alone tear around like that.
Mama cat scratches at the sliding glass door if she sees me, not only for a handout, but sometimes just to get scratched under her chin real good. She waggles her tail and rubs the edge of the door.
Anyone else that tries gets the cold glare.
The two boys always come to the window when Mama's there, just to say hello.
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