Angela Natalie-Christina
*My Angel*
(I know I did!)
Please Keep Scrolling For My Angel's Story...
With Big Brother Bailey
Her First Winnipeg Winter At Home.
Being Lazy :)
The Story of My Angel
My Angel - Angela Natalie-Christina, was born February 6th, 1998. Her early life is sketchy, but this is what I've been told. She was most likely born on the cold streets of Winnipeg, to a mother who was either an abandoned cat, a stray, or an outdoor cat. Either way, whoever owned the mother obviously didn't care much, since she was very sick, pregnant, and not tattooed or identifyable at all. The mother give birth to four kittens on that night in February, when winter is in its height here, and nearly -30C.
Mother and the four kittens were found later, roughly on the 20th of February, but some caring person who brought the kittens and Mom into the Winnipeg Humane Society (5 Kent Street, WPG, Manitoba). The kittens are aged at 14 days old, very sick, hungry and cold. The mother was sick as well, and not well enough to nurse her starving kits. The family was put into foster care, the kittens bottle-fed, and mom given proper nutrition.
April 22nd, 1998 - this is when I come into the picture. Finally convincing my parents that we did need a cat in our lives (my father being an adament cat hater**, my mother not too fond on the subject either), I'd convinced them that I didn't want to go the petstore route (petstores are *horrid* places, which sell animals like stock ... to the highest bidder), or the paper route either. I'd been interested in working with the Humane Soceity, and that was where I wanted to get my kitten from.
So I visited many times, and found no kittens (now, I'm all for getting older cats from the shelters, since they need homes just as much, if not more than the kitties. but I was with my parents rules, here, which were "no cat, just a kitten"). Finally on the 22nd, I called the shelter and received the news that four new kittens had just come in! I went straight down, which was where I met the two Silver Tabbies (now, another "rule" i was to live by was no black cat ... and the other kitties were black. Not to spite my mother or anything, but the next cat I get (once moved out) will be a black, adult cat). I wanted both of these tabbies, but my mother had reminded me of the rule that they'd agreed to "one kitten", not two. So I had decisions. And how did I choose? Well, I held both kitties, and looked for things that stood out about them (both seemed well natured, although one had spots on her belly). Finally, one kitten reached up and swatted my curls ... and I knew instantly this was my Angel.
Luckily, a couple came in just as I was signing adoption papers ... and adopted the other kitten.
When Angel came home, she had her problems. To start with, she had Cat Cough (or Upper Respiratory Ailment) which is like a human cold. She had a runny nose, runny eyes, and was sneezing a considerable amount. (Which wasn't all too bad, since to help her out we let her in the bathroom when showers were taken ... the steam was said to help her breathe better. And now we can't keep her outta the tub and the bathroom!). But she also had just gotten over earmites, and her ears were coated with black wax. After twice-a-day cleaning with swabs and mineral oil, and Pediatric nasal drops ... she got better.
.But her problems weren't over. She came down with a severely high fever a few months later, and had to have meds for that as well. The vet was curious as to her many ailments, and decided to put a test in for FIV (which is the feline version of AIDS). Happily she tested negative, got better, gained weight (boy did she ever!) and was fixed that summer.
She's now 10 pounds *probably 10.5 by now...*, lazy, but adorable. She adores her little sister, Hunny, and her big brother Bailey. She still has problems ... most likely due to the hardships she faced as a kitten ... she has aggressive tendencies, loves to bite ankles, hands, and whatever else gets in her way ... and she isn't fond of being held and cuddled. But ... we can't all be perfect, now can we?
** For the benefit of pageviewers (Hi Karen!) I have to admit that my father does love Angela, so he's not a complete cat hater. Oh sure, he still makes the sly remarks about "selling the cat", but deep down she's his baby **
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Geraldine Somerville
Appreciation Page
