Feral Child Number 2

Written April 24, 1997 and Updated September 26th, 1998

This is Bro-kitty's story....Brotherkitty came in to my life and Motherkitty's life about one year ago. Motherkitty wasn't hanging around her usual spot and my good friend Dottie happened to notice this orange and white cat behind the shopping center where Mommakitty lives. We started putting food in both areas and it wasn't long before Mommakitty and Brotherkitty started showing up primarily behind the shopping center. I continued to put food in both areas for months, but to be honest with you...I think I was feeding cats at one location and birds at the other. I finally decided to stick to just one area and so did Mommakitty. Every night when I pulled up in my car, there was Brotherkitty and Mommakitty waiting for me. Momma always took off as I got out of the car (not far, just down the shrubs a bit) but Brotherkitty would hang close and go right to the food after I sat it down.

Sometimes, Mommakitty will come up next to Brotherkitty and eat while I'm still kneeling down within a couple feet of them, but all I have to do is move a bit and off she goes. Brotherkitty is a different story. He was leary of me, but never ran off when I came close. After a few weeks, I decided to get up the nerve to get closer. I figured I should be very patient and just reach out a little bit toward him, hold my hand still and then stop. Each day I would hold my hand a little closer. Brotherkitty would stop eating...gaze at me as if I was crazy and go back to his food. After a couple of weeks of this, one day I reached slowly in and scratched him on the head. He didn't run, but I decided to hold back my urge to push things and left it at that. Each day after that, I would scratch his head a little longer. Before I knew it...he was responding by actually coming closer to me as I rubbed and scratched. I can't tell you how wonderful this made me feel. I would drive home on cloud nine.

Well, once the initial head scratching became a daily ritual...it wasn't long before I was able to pet him from head to the tip of his tail. Then, one day I'm kneeling down pouring food into a bowl and BAM!...he's banging up against me and rubbing all over me. I found I could do just about anything to Brotherkitty but pick him up. He doesn't like that. His favorite ritual is to wait until I'm about to pour some food or water into a bowl and BANG!...he head butts the container and sends food and water flying everywhere. I literally have to grab him and hold him or I would never get the food or water into the bowl.

So...last November I had a week off from work and decided it was time to see if I could snag Brotherkitty and get him over to Dr. Sanders for a quick exam and shots. Neutering was definately a possibility, but by this time I was pretty sure he was already neutered. This is really quite funny. After eyeing poor little Brotherkitty's butt for weeks trying to see if he was neutered or not...one day I just got up behind him and starting groping for his little balls. Well...heck, I knew I could tell by the feel if he had them or not!!! So, there I was running around behind this poor kitty grabbing his balls while people drove down the street staring at me like I was some sort of pervert!!! I never really got a good feel and decided to leave it up to Dr. Sanders. That day, I just drove up, got out with a cat carrier, walked over to the boy, grabbed him, pushed him in the carrier and off we went. Dr. Sanders' clinic is right in the same parking lot...so, that's nice. Brotherkiity was a good little boy he pooped on the examining table, but other than that...he was very well behaved. Turned out I was right. Brotherkitty is neutered which means he once belonged to someone. I suppose he was dumped nearby, because this shopping area is nowhere near any homes. Anyway...Brokitty (his nickname) got his shots and off we went. Obviously, I wasn't a real popular person with Brokitty for several days, but in a short while we were best buddies again.

So, life goes on and I see my feral babies everday...sometimes twice a day. I had to grab Brokitty just the other day and take him to Dr. Sanders because he had a nasty bite on his neck which had abcessed and was draining pretty badly. I figured that a raccoon had bit him because there were two large holes in his neck, but Dr. Sanders said it could have been another cat. Knowing it wouldn't be Mommakitty, I doubted that. Anyway...Dr. Sanders gave him a big 3day antibiotic shot, drained and cleaned out the wound and treated it with this great antibiotic cream that healed it right up in a matter of days. Turns out Dr. Sanders might be right about the "cat" bite. Just a few days later...my husband stopped to feed the babies because I didn't have a car and was kinda stranded at home. He came home and announced there was kitty number three, now. The next night I saw this kitty. What a beauty!!! I swear he looks like a purebred cat. Big, gorgeous cream colored, long haired kitty. Big gorgeous fluffy tail! But, that was almost two weeks ago now....and I haven't seen him lately. I had already decided to name him Otherkitty...seemed to fit right along with Mommakitty and Brotherkitty, don't you think? Well, we'll just have to wait and see if he comes back. If so, I think he and Brokitty would eventually get along. Mommakitty is spayed so there would be no cause for fighting.

That's my Brotherkitty story...so far. In writing this, I've managed to stir up some emotions about this wonderful little guy and it makes me think back to just this evening when I stopped to feed him and Mommakitty. Mommakitty wasn't around and that's okay...she sometimes isn't. But, Brokitty was so affectionate tonight and instead of eating the food I put down, he kept following me back to my car and wanting my attention. I stayed as long as I could and did finally get him to start eating a little and I left. Now, I'm concerned about my baby and I think I'll throw on some jeans and a jacket and go check on him. He's just a little over 2 miles from here and I know I'll feel better. So, this is it!!! My story about my very best buddy. I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed telling it.

PS. Just got home...Brokitty and Mommakitty are fine. They were lounging in the grass near their shelter of shrubs. I got to give Brokitty a lot of head rubs and believe it or not...I picked him up and hugged him! He let me!! When I put him down...he went straight for some dirt and rubbed himself in it. A normal person would have taken that as an insult. But, I'm crazy and don't mind a bit!!!