Thursday, March 30, 2017

Brothers and sisters

This past year brought additions to Nicki and Sandi's family of 3 new brothers, largely unwelcomed.
 Joe was the first to arrive as snow fell and temperatures dropped in Feb. of 2016.
Joe had appeared on my parents back porch the past summer and once he met us, he refused to leave . He was vocal and loving and ate and drank voraciously. As winter hit, I researched housing and built him an insulated home but once the temperatures fell below freezing, we knew we had to take him in or risk his death. 
A trip to the vet sealed his fate with us:we learned that he was a boy, had already been fixed, had lost  teeth at some point and was, happily, not dumped because he was ill. He seemed run of the mill so we named him Joe but I did tell folks that his namesake was Joe Torre. 
Next to follow were Inky and Toughie, seen in much better days on Long Island where they lived for many years as stray cats. 
That all changed in December of 2009 when Inky was shot at and required amputation of his hind leg. As the vet predicted , Inky adapted beautifully to life as a tripod but his outdoor days were over.
By 2016, both cats were relegated to my parents basement and each was doing poorly. I made nightly visits to care for them but soon feared that Toughie was near the end . We took both in and brought them to the vet. 
On July 23rd, 2016, they came home to our apartment for good but 5 cats in a small apartment has not been easy and is still a work in progress. 

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