Charlie and Indie are siblings who began their life feral. One year in late Spring, two stray cats thought my friend's backyard was a safe place to give birth. They chose the protective cedar hedges lining the back of her yard to hide. It wasn't until my friend noticed kittens scuttling around her backyard that she realized what had happened. Unable to take in any of the cats or kittens herself, she contacted a no-kill cat shelter in our area who agreed they would take them in once they were sure the mothers wouldn't feel threatened. A few weeks later some volunteers from the cat rescue showed up while my friend was at work and picked up the mothers and their babies. Two days later however, my friend heard crying from the backyard and found two kittens in the grass. Since there were two mothers and so many kittens, neither my friend or the rescue had known just how many cats needed saving. Since the rescue was overrun, my friend asked my husband if we could take them both. So on the day after we returned from our honeymoon, my new hubby disappeared for a while and came home with two darling kittens.
Charlie and Indie were given a clean bill of health by the vets but it took a few months for them to become used to their new home. They were terrified of us scary humans, terrified of being indoors and terrified of starving. Charlie would willingly give over her meals to Indie, who would scarf both down, so we began feeding them separately. We also dedicated a room in our house to them so they could get used to their new surroundings slowly. Within a month or so they were playing with us, enjoying cuddles and venturing to other areas of our home.Now Charlie is a complete snuggle bug. She loves to cuddle and always wants to be the centre of attention. If I'm not upstairs for bedtime cuddles by 10:30pm she comes downstairs looking for me. She loves to sleep on my shoulder, purring away. Indie has warmed up a lot but still seems wary of us. He wants to be cuddled but will always sit just out of reach. He is also a big talker and could carry on an entire conversation with you if you let him! Charlie likes to venture outside with me to sit in the sunshine whereas Indie is nowhere to find when a door opens.
Cali came in to our lives unexpectedly. I found her severely dehydrated on a hot summer day near our home. I was able to revive her, let her sleep in the garage and began leaving food and water out for her. She was incredibly thin and we had seen her out at all hours of the day and in all weather so we were sure she was a stray. After speaking with some neighbours we found out that Cali had been ditched by a neighbour down the street. Cali had been at a shelter her teenage daughter volunteered at and was scheduled to be euthanized. The daughter didn't want her put to sleep so she brought her home. Neither her or her mom wanted to accept responsibility for her so they put her back on the streets, not fixed and not vaccinated.
After a few weeks of feeding Cali and letting her sleep in our garage we decided to keep her. In the short time we had known and fell in love with her, it was also becoming more and more evident that Cali was pregnant. So we helped her raise the kittens, found them safe and loving forever homes, then had her spayed, vaccinated and made her part of the family.Cali is such a sweetheart. She is incredibly affectionate and thanks us every day for giving her a warm home, love and proper meals. She is much younger than Charlie and Indie and loves to play and run laps around the house. Occasionally she will get Charlie and Indie in on the fun too! She has become the perfect addition to our family and we feel so blessed that we found her that hot summer day.
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