Thursday, May 4, 2017

May the Fourth Be With You

Happy Birthday to Rey!  Hard to believe the little princess is a year old already! Of course, she's a stray so I don't actually know her birthday, but since our best guess is "early May" I thought the fourth would be thematically appropriate.


Rey came into our family on June 21st last year.   I was on my way to work at 5:45am, going 70mph down the highway through a creek bottom when I thought I saw a kitten on the shoulder of the road.  I honestly thought my eyes were playing tricks, but I knew I'd think about it all day and wonder if I didn't make sure. So I circled back and drove slowly down the shoulder until my headlights lit up a kitten. Sure enough. 

First picture

I figured she would be injured if she wasn't dead, but she turned to look at me as I walked up. She was laying about a foot off the white line watching the traffic go by.  She surprised me by bolting across the street the first time I tried to pick her up.  The second time I grabbed her, and she immediately paid me back by biting the crap out of my hand.  She was howling, but no mama cat came out of the woods to claim her. 


I threw her in a big igloo cooler I had in the back of my car, wedged the lid up with an umbrella so she could breathe, and headed back home. On my way I called work and told them I'd be a bit late.


For the first week she pretty much slept all the time while the de-wormer, flea and tick killer, and lots of food did their job.  I spent two days combing a few hundred fleas out of her long hair. Ick.  We were beginning to think she was just a remarkably lazy cat, but after the first week she found her energy and hasn't lost it yet...


Rory has grudgingly accepted her presence.  Rey never lets her get much peace, so she has to sleep with one eye open.

...for the record, we don't actually eat on that table

People always ask if Rey is a Maine Coon because she has such beautiful, fluffy fur. Considering she's a side-of-the-road special she could be anything, but really I think she's too small to be a Maine Coon. Underneath all her floofs she's quite petite.


Happy first birthday to our gorgeous, purr-filled, sweet and sassy little girl.  I'm so glad you didn't get smooshed by a car!


9 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday Rey! Congrats to your kitty mom for being an angel in the right place, right time!!

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  2. Maine Coons don't always grow to their full size until about the age of 3. She could keep getting bigger lol. They are also playful and very intelligent. She certainly looks like one - the M on the forehead and the fur on the bottom of the feet. She's definitely a sweetie!!

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  3. Happy Birthday to your beautiful kitty.

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  4. She is gorgeous, gorgeous. And she appears to be a Maine Coon to me, too. Just a small one. Enjoy !

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  5. She is so pretty, what a great rescue story!

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  6. May the 4th be with you Rey! She is so pretty, and looks just like the Maine Coon I once had

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  7. Happy birthday, little fuzz monster! You're a lucky girl to have been adopted by Kat and Rory. May 4th is our wedding anniversary, too, so celebrations all around :)

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  8. So sorry I missed Rey's birthday party. Happy Belated Birthday to you little "furry footed sweetie". I'm so glad that Momma Kat rescued you from that scary creek bottom. You're in good hand (paws) now.

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  9. Awww! Belated Happy Birthday Rey! You were very lucky to be rescued like that!
    Hi Kat, I'm glad I read this post, now South Park makes more sense! I don't know if you've seen South Park where one of the characters (Cartman) was pretending to be a "coon" in one episode ..... we thought he was supposed to be a raccoon, now we know otherwise. We're in the U.K. and hadn't heard of Maine Coon cats.
    Wonderful story, so pleased Rey found her "forever home" with such a loving mum!
    Barbara x

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