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| Baby M
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Baby Munchkin – or Baby M as she is known in these parts – was born at the shelter back in March 2006. We weren’t even aware that her mother was pregnant, as she had just arrived at the shelter the previous weekend as part of a large cat rescue, and did not appear to be big enough to be having a litter. But there was one kitten on a Friday morning, and only one, and the mother cat was having none of it. We didn’t want to disturb her, as she was already quite stressed with being at the shelter, so we waited till Saturday to see what she would do. Unfortunately, she remained at the opposite end of the cage from the newborn kitten.
I removed the kitten Saturday afternoon and fed her by syringe as she was famished. There was little point in putting her back in the cage with the mother cat, as I wouldn’t be back at the shelter till Monday, and was concerned she would be unfed till then. I hadn’t planned on becoming a foster mom again, as it’s so difficult to foster orphans, so it became necessary for me to take her home. My own two cats, Munchkin and Blondo, had been thru the drill before with fosters coming home with me, so they were used to the new arrival. To be on the safe side, I kept the kitten in a carrier with lots of blankets in-between feedings. Oh yes, those newborn feedings. How they do enjoy the middle of the night. Can’t say I feel the same way myself.
The kitten fed well, and grew well. Before long, she was playing with Munchkin and Blondo, who basically gave me the look which said “we’re too old for this” – both of them being all of 5 years old, they just liked to act like seniors. Blondo pretty much ignored her, as he is what you’d call an alpha cat and not real partial to new developments, while Munchkin babysat and humoured her as necessary.
By the time she was eight weeks old and due for her first vaccination, I needed to take a decision on returning her to the shelter. My son, who was 3 years old at the time, had become quite attached to her and she was rather taken with him as well. I know some of my earliest memories as a kid involved our family cat, who grew up with me and thankfully lived until my late teens, so I could relate to my own child’s interest in Baby M. And as you may have guessed, it was he who christened her Baby Munchkin, due to her resemblance to my cat Munchkin.
So, the foster became a permanent resident. Munchkin still tolerates her silliness, with patience you don’t normally see in your average cat, while Blondo still ignores her – except for those times she’s foolish enough to grab his tail, after which she receives a glare that tells her she really should know better, but nothing more. For my son, she keeps his feet warm in bed at night, regularly rising at about 6:00 am each day to switch beds to walk across my pillow to wake me. She’s gradually got the hang of him being at school through the week, keeping busy stealing socks and Kleenex and stockpiling them who knows where (for some reason, that seems to be an orphan thing, I’m not sure why). By the time he returns from school, she’s very happy to see her playmate, and has no shortage of head butts to share with him. She’s a special girl, and we are blessed to have had her with us these past few years, with many more to come. Donna
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