Oct 11, 2009

Fur Baby-Mosaic Monday

This ragged looking old boy is Noah, our 15 year old cat.  He fits in really well at our house these days...he's a little arthritic, his vision's not so great, and likes to lie around the house in his favorite chair!  There's a bit of a story around our fur boy Noah.  I've always been an animal person.  I was raised in a family of animal lovers.  Both of our kids love animals too and we had a few pets as they grew up - fish, guinea pigs, hamsters, a dog, the usual family menagerie.  But no cats.  My husband just couldn't stand cats...or so he thought.  When our daughter was mid way through college (she still lived at home) she talked her dad into letting her have a cat in the house.  My parents still live in Tennessee where I was born and they've always had a half dozen or so outside cats at any given time, like many families in southern rural areas do.  One of the cats they called theirs was actually a feral cat.  She was a beauty but she had never been touched by human hands.  They fed her regularly so she took advantage of a good thing and made their grounds her home.  Mother named them all she was Ellie May.  Ellie May had a litter of 5 or 6 precious kitties in February 1994.  However, in March there was a horrendous flood.  Even though my parents live in a high area the flood ravaged the property surrounding the house.  When my parents heard the water coming my dad ran out and carried the babies to a safe place under the house.  The mother cat promptly ran to her babies rescue and moved her kittens back to the original spot, which was directly in the path of the water.  When the rapidly moving water reached the little family the mother tried to swim with her kittens carried in her mouth to a safe place.  The first, and only kitten she was able to save, was a snow white ball of fur, now red from the Tennessee clay earth.  All the other kittens were swept away in the flood.  Mother said she and Dad were heartbroken when they saw the mother frantically swimming in the flood with her tiny baby in her moth.  When she reached the patio around the swimming pool Ellie May collapsed from exhaustion with her baby and my parents were able to take them both to a safe, dry place to recover.  It was the first time Ellie May had ever been touched.  Our Noah was that lucky little survivor.  From that time on Ellie let her baby be cared for by my parents.  She let them hold him and bath and feed him.  Julie drove down to visit her grandparents weeks later and she fell in love with the tiny, fluffy ball of solid white fur.  My parents offered him to us.  Well, my husband wasn't thrilled about it but he finally gave in and said yes to a cat.  Julie named him Noah, for obvious reasons. 

Now here's the funny part of the story.  My husband calls himself Daddy to Noah, he carries him like a baby in his arms, he shops for and feeds him the most expensive cat food, and he is positive that his fur baby says "hello" to him!  When we leave town we have someone come to the house twice a day to care for Noah.  My husband has become notorious in his preparations for Noah.  There's always enough food for ten cats and there are a few pages of written specific directions, per Noah's preferences.  He REMOVES the door to the basement to make certain the door doesn't "accidentally" get closed so Noah will have full access to his litter box.  Our bedroom door must remain open so Noah will be able to rest on our bed, along with an article of our clothing so he won't get too lonely!  This is the man who hates cats.  Perhaps a leopard's spots CAN be changed! 

Our sweet fur boy is probably nearing the end of his life now.  We'll be so sad when he's gone and yes, we'll get another cat.  Noah can't be replaced but we won't want to miss out on the happiness a warm, purring, furry little body can bring to our lives.  Meanwhile, until that inevitable day comes, my husband and I will carry our fur baby around and let him sleep on our bed and supply him with treats and love him like the gift he has been to our family.

All creatures great and small,



All things wise and wonderful,


The Lord God made them all.






Please visit Mary, Little Red House, for more mosaics.  Thanks, Mary, for hosting this fun weekly event.  I'm always amazed at the creative ideas so many of you come up with each week!

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Kathy. Oh, I have tears in my eyes reading your story! How sad for the mother cat loosing all her babies but Noah. My husband is like your when it comes to our dog, Chloe Dawn.
Thank you so much for your prayers for my daughter.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

Good ole Noah! He is such a sweetie. Love his sink bed!

Carolyn said...

Noah is a lucky cat to be so well loved!

Carolyn

Jeanne said...

hehe I LOVE it! What a handsome boy and I love the story of him winning over your husband.

Mary said...

Awww, what a sweetie-pie! Thanks for sharing your fur baby with us at Mosaic MOnday. :)

Char said...

ohhhhh poor baby. glad you had at least one

Wildflowerhouse said...

Noah has one another heart. Mine.We have a cat or should I say she has us.Came out of the woods very pregnant many moons ago. We took her inand she graced us with nine kittens, which we had shots and neuturing done before anyone could adopt. Mamma Midnight is still with us today and has a very special place in our hearts. Sharon

Shirley said...

What a wonderful story. Poor mamma cat, but she was led to the right people and her kitten got the perfect home.

Carol said...

What a sweet face!

pam said...

What a trouper little Noah was...pets are such a joy to have around...

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Kathy this was a wonderful story about your dear Noah. I have always had a cat(s) in my life and my husband was also very reluctant to have one grace our home but he in turn has been won over by the three we have been lucky enough to own through our marriage. My present cat Bo is also all white cat that I adopted as a from adult someone who was allergic and he is the very best company

Give Noah a chin tickle from me!

Happy Mosaic Monday!

Alicia said...

What a precious story. I love cats myself, though I don't have one. I think all those people that say they don't like cats should just give them a chance. I'm glad you've enjoyed loving Noah for so many years. Thank you for sharing and thanks for visiting my humble blog and leaving such a sweet comment. Have a beautiful week as well!

Diann @ The Thrifty Groove said...

sounds like Noah is one happy cat and very loved!

Ebie said...

Oh, Noah is so beautiful! And a very sad story of rescue. I hope Noah would feel better! We have adopted an abused cat and she has a loving home now.

Thanks for this wonderful story and your mosaic dedicated to Noah!

Tes said...

Oh wow, what a lovely story, Kathy! Poor mom cat, but at least there is Noah. He is lucky to have you guys!

Thank you for sharing this wonderful story. *hugs*

Diane AZ said...

Hi Kathy, What a beautiful mosaic of Noah, he has such lovely eyes. Thanks for sharing his story. Have a wonderful week!

K. Soucy said...

What a beautiful story! Thank you.

deb said...

What a touching story. Poor Ellie May, poor babies. Lucky Noah! Sweet mosiac! Have agreat Monday!
*hugs*deb

ellen b. said...

That's a sweet part of the story about your husband with Noah...

Brenda Pruitt said...

What a precious, delightful story! Sad, but yet beautiful all at the same time. Thank you so much for sharing. A fellow animal lover here!
Brenda

My name is Riet said...

Oh what a lovely story We always had cats too but after our last one died my DH said no more cats because we are too old and we won't be able to keep up with it, The cat might outlive us and where is it going then? Yes, right. But we babysit our sons cat now and then when he goes on holidays and I love those times. Thank you for visiting and have a nice day

Claudia said...

What a sweet sweet post.

Thanks for brightening my day.

If you get a chance I would love for you to stop and say hi.

TTFN~~ Claudia ♥ ♥

Marsha said...

Noah seems a very fitting name for him. What a story of survival. A great mosaic post.

Icy BC said...

Beautiful story of Noah and your husband. It must be nice seeing him cuddle up with the cat..

Fun mosaic of Noah..

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

He's beautiful, and what a story! I enjoyed his story so much. Sounds to me like he was meant to be your cat. He is definitely appropriately named. laurie

~JarieLyn~ said...

This is the sweetest story and I am so sad that mama kitty wasn't able to save her other babies. But lucky for you, she saved one and it sounds like Noah has blessed your household for 15 years. He's a cutie. :)

storyteller said...

Your experiences with Noah reminds me of my own with Ms Kitty who is also growing old these days. I love your Fur-Baby Mosaic ... filled with all those expressive close ups! Thanks for dropping by Small Reflections ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Hi Kathy! I love your story of Noah! I am also a cat lover...I have four who serve as my staff on my blog! lol Your Noah looks a lot like my Baby Kitty from what I can see of his face. Baby Kitty was also a feral kitten that we bottle fed from birth. Aren't they sweeties? They add so much to our lives! Happy week!...Debbie

Carol said...

Oh, isn't he a lucky cat!

Mitzi said...

I love fellow cat people.