Tuesday, October 27, 2009

It's a "Nellie Rose" kind of Halloween!!

Did I ever tell you the story of Nellie Rose? She is the beautiful black cat with the bewitching eyes you see before you . . . While I was still living in Florida, and active in feline rescue with a wonderful group of people, including Humane Society of Tampa Bay, I became Nellie Rose's foster mother. Linda Baker, who was the director for HSTB, met me in the facility parking lot one afternoon while I was returning a feral cat trap. She asked me if I had seen the litter of kittens that Holly O'Brien had brought to the Shelter that morning to be spay/neutered. She mentioned that they were somewhat shy and needed a little "socializing". Although I was on my way out, I quickly turned around and asked Alice, the vet tech that assisted with all animal surgeries, about the litter of kittens. Alice took me back to the recovery room, and there they were - a litter of four, all-black kittens - one female, and three males. You see, Holly O'Brien was always rescuing cats and kittens, having them spayed/neutered, and if they were feral, she would return them to their original habitat. I told Alice that Linda had sent me in to see if there was anything I could do for the kittens to help socialize them. I asked her which kitten was the most socialized, and she said that the female was less afraid than her brothers.

And, of course, the rest is history! I brought the little black kitten home with me, introduced her to the rest of my pride, and named her Nellie Rose. While she is still very shy and keeps to herself, you can often find her running after one of the other cats, or sitting in the front window, looking out into the night. Of course, when I saw her posed in front of my favorite Halloween quilt, I had to snap this photo. Isn't she a beauty?

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