Lunch with Trudy
… a mostly true story with a happy ending; names, dates and some places changed to protect the innocent. by LUDDD CREEF… meow 2020
Back in June two nice people adopted me and my little runt kitten who was seven weeks old at the time. It was such an unlikely event that anyone would want us because we had some “baggage.” We are Manx cats without tails and I am partially blind and my runt has some stenosis of the spine. Our new parents are retired people who love cats and have cared for many during their forty years together. We also have a donkey but we have not met him yet. His name is Peanut and he has been part of the family since 1998. He was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. He spends winters at an Equine Rescue farm at a place called Doe Hill, Virginia with mini horses and donkeys who were rescued from conditions of abuse and neglect. Then in the spring he and a companion or two are moved to Meadowdale, Virginia, to spend the summer. Last year his guest was a small mini mule named Molly….a pretty brown mule with a cross on her back, like the donkey. Her parents were a donkey and a horse, or so I’m told.
Our people normally spend the cold winters in a place called Rockingham County, Virginia. We have spent one night there so far. Our cat hospital is located there and we were both spayed there to prevent pregnancy, whatever that means, and we both got a tattoo bar code which says...”I have been spayed.” We are not staying there this winter but we don’t understand the reason why. We are spending this winter in our mountain cabin where the snow drifts and the deer roam.
Before I was adopted I lived in a big barn on a farm where many other animals also lived. I had three litters of kittens, a dozen I am told. Being blind, I was run over by many of the other animals because I could not see to get out of their way. Sometimes it was just another cat or the dog, but other times it was a chicken or goat or the big ole milk cow! I learned to stay close to the barn walls for safety and after I discovered the barn loft I was never run over again. The loft had a nice surprise - that is where the mice lived and there were so many, even a blind cat could catch one now and then.
I was easy to catch too. The neighbor dogs often used me as a chew toy to toss around and amuse themselves. They would roll me in the mud or snow depending on which season it was. Then one night I was put into a cage and hauled away by strangers who must have been people angels. In the process I had four kittens, two orange boys and two brown girls, or so I was told. About the time I was running out of baby kitten milk, the boys were adopted together and one of the girls was too. I am told the girl was named Peaches and the boys were named Mike and Ike.
Our cabin house is a fun place. The people have cut holes in the walls so we can get to our kitty pans 24-7 whatever that means. The front porch has great big glass doors all the way to the floor with screens for summer. I can see some long distance things like when the deer or Ralph the brush tail squirrel walk by. The runt who the people named Pippa is now ten months old and she is my eyes, sitting patiently beside me describing what “we” see. She is a sweet little girl and she is always going to be petite, or so I am told.
I still enjoy meals with my people who I named HE and SHE. They put a chair by the wall so I can sit with them at meal time. The runt has taught HE to play the cat fish game with us after each meal. I sit in the card board toy box while runt runs around squealing as the toy mouse attached to the fishing rod is cast over and over. Occasionally the toy mouse will land in my box so I can catch the mouse too. After about fifteen minutes we are all tired and me and the runt are quite ready for a cat nap.
We have our own room where we sleep each night. Get up time is 6:15 each morning after we smell the fresh coffee HE makes. Sometimes at night runt will ask about her daddy and the animals in the big barn, I usually say “go to sleep little one, we will talk when you are older.” I cuddle her as tears roll down my face as I recall the cold scary nights I spent on the farm before the rescue. Life is wonderful now and my tears are of the joyful variety. Good night all.
LUDDD CREEF…. 2-7-21