Oh, Tillie
Growing up on a farm I’ve always loved animals. We had quite the assortment over the years from cows, to chickens, pigs, a horse, donkey, goats, and the typical cats and dogs. I was sad whenever we had to give them up for various reasons, but my heart broke when they had to be put down, or suddenly died. Our first family dog that I can remember, was a white and rust colored collie-mix; we called Tippy. She lived a good, long life until she was hit by a car; I think I cried for days.
With my children growing up on a farm, we also had an assortment of animals along with the normal dogs and barn cats. My daughter was as big of an animal lover as her mama, and tended to any new born litter of kittens like they were her own. We used to supplement the dry cat food with a hand prepared egg, cheese, bread and milk mixture. They would frantically gobble up.
When my daughter would have a sleepover at one of her friends or some other activity that would keep her away from the farm, she would instruct me to feed and play with the kittens. It always made me laugh how detailed her instructions were, even though I think I loved them as much as she did.
Once we moved from the farm she’s begged and pleaded over the years to get a cat or dog. I always told her no. I felt we weren’t home enough to give the animal it’s much needed attention. So she settled for hermit crabs, fish and a turtle she called Nitro….LOL.
Her junior year as a college student she brought one of the farm kittens to school over winter term and hid Weazy in her dorm room. Weazy kept her company for those three weeks, and was never discovered….ha!
Recently, she started begging to get a cat again. Most of her friends have moved out of the area and claimed if I let her have a kitten, she wouldn’t feel so lonely……no words. In a weak moment she made it sound so easy and somehow when I wasn’t expecting it, I actually thought about saying yes. Well, let’s just say she jumped on the opportunity and within a few days had her sights on one.
She spent a few hours getting to know the kitten. It was originally spoken for, but the owner didn’t think the people were a suitable match, and decided she wanted Hannah to care for it. She was able to keep it over the weekend to see if it was a good fit for our family.
The day Hannah brought home the kitten, it was very upset and meowing loudly as she entered through the door. With recent flooding in the area, the owner had asked Hannah to help her rescue the animals. After they were safe, Hannah bathed all five kittens. You can imagine the fear and irritation the kitten felt from the flooding, bath, being put in a cage, then the car ride.
Within a very short time, Tillie, the mostly white, with speckles of orange-ish tan fluff ball, stole my heart. Her personality is sweet and sassy, and I often find myself laughing out loud at her antics. She gets crabby when she’s tired, and very frisky when she’s not. She purrs often and loves to cuddle when she is ready for bed.
As you may have guessed, her weekend stay turned into a forever home. Even though my daughter claims our new addition is just what she needed…..Oh, Tillie, I think you might have been just what I needed too. Be still my heart.
xoxox…..Sheryl
PS…..as I was typing this post, Tillie was chasing a pink ball with a bell inside, around the living room, dining room and kitchen…..she’s hilarious to watch. I swear I can’t get anything done!