Tuesday, July 8, 2014

The post about Tweedle


Oh my dear sweet Tweedle.. where to start..


Tweedle was also a foster kitten from July/August of 2004, turned permanent resident.. She has always been and will continue to be 'mentally challenged'. I liken her to a down syndrome type person, because she is a little slow learning things, but is the sweetest most pleasant cat you have ever met (well except when she wants you to know something, then she meows at you in the loudest 'caw' type voice that is very grating - but you know it is only because she wants your attention, so you can't be mad)


Twee failed to learn to eat like her siblings did. Normally you put food down in front of a kitten and they start to eat it. Sometimes you have to put a little in their mouth for them to understand. Once they get it though, that's it, no need to go any further, the next meal they've got it. Not Twee. All of her siblings and her mother would be eating, and she's be sitting there screaming about how hungry she was. I would offer her food in my fingers and she would chomp my fingers happily (yes, making me say "OW" all the way) but couldn't make the mental leap from the bits of food in my fingers to the bits of food on the plate. No matter how I tried to convince her, she couldn't do it. I would pick food up off the plate and not move my fingers at all, and she would eat off my fingers, but not the plate. Finally I decided to gently push her snout into the food to help her 'get it'. She didn't understand until I hand moved her head down far enough that food started to seep into her mouth. It took three or four days of doing that for her to 'get it' and do it on her own, the only problem was she had to eat that way for the next month or so... she took a lot of cleaning.

nom nom nom
Twee, food bowls are for eating out of, not sleeping in!
Naming her was a challenge because of her cluelessness. Some pretty unsavory names were bandied about, and I so wasn't willing to saddle her with any of them even if it was temporary.. Someone suggested Tweedle Dum, and the Twee part of that ended up sticking. When she was little, I would often sign the Rockin Robin song at her.

My husband adored her clueless antics and her sweet sweet personality but he knew we shouldn't keep her because .. well five cats is a lot of cats.. (ha ha ha) but when she went to be neutered, she had such a severe reaction to the anesthesia, that she actually died on the table. The staff was able to bring her back, but her lungs were full of fluids, and we had to wait several weeks before trying again. We actually had a vacation planned at that time, so I had a friend come and take care of the cats and fortunately she was willing to do one more, so we sent the rest of the family off to be adopted and left Twee behind.

As she healed, she became loved - in that 'you aren't just a foster' kind of way. Time came to schedule her neuter again, and this time there were more complications but they were able to get through it. Some more recovery time at the house, and then I brought her to an end of the year event the shelter was holding to see if I could find her a home. A few people nibbled, but no one agreed to adopt her, so I brought her home with every intention of bringing her to the shelter the next day.

Well when I walked in the door, my husband called out "TWEE'S HOME!". I replied is she? and he said yes, she is. I said well then you go adopt her, and make her 'your fault'.. and he happily did.

As she grew, her coat grew faster than she did. Currently it is actually two sizes too big for her body.. which is adorable! You can grab fist fulls of her fur and skin and it easily comes away from her body in almost every spot.

Twee is still very much the baby of the house. When other kittens were added, she could not stand their being called 'the baby' as that was what she was supposed to be called. You could tell she was confused and a little hurt when we did it, so from then on all other kittens are kittens, and Twee is 'the baby'.. I once had an animal communicator 'talk' to her and was told she 'sounds very much like a kitten', even though she is full grown.

Flash face..
I don't post about her much because she doesn't like my taking her picture.. the flash bothers her, so she always has what I jokingly call 'flash face'.. and when you are an all black cat with a wee bit of white, the photos don't come out well. She will also turn her head, or just get up and leave.. so I've come to respect that she prefers I don't, and simply do it less often, or from further away..

22 comments:

  1. OMC, Twee is a tuxie version of Boodie! Boodie is not too bright either, but she is very sweet.

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  2. Gorgeous, and a lot like my cat (sadly gone to rainbow bridge), Miss inky binks who was not the sharpest tool in the shed as we say in Australia, but oh so sweet and loving. Thanks for sharing Twee's story!

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  3. Oh so sweet! Truly Twee ended up in the right home being looked after so well. Kisses on the nose!
    xo Catherine

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  4. Oh that photo of her sleeping in the bowl is sweet. I didn't realize she had such a traumatic start to life with her spay--it is good that you kept her. :-)

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  5. I love how each cat has his or her own unique story. And the pictures! OMG I don't know if the faceplant-in-the-food or the sleeping-in-the-bowl picture is cuter.

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  6. :-) Twee! Squee! :-)

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  7. love that story (and he sleeping in the food dish). and besides, sometimes it is better to be cute than smart :)

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  8. The faceplant in the food is just too cute and sleeping in the food dish. Twee is the perfect name!! This was a good "foster fail"!!

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  9. I love that picture of Twee with her face in the food. So adorable! Twee is such a special girl. :)

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  10. She is just so adorable and we totally understand how you fell in love with her.

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  11. What a great story about Twee! Thank you for sharing it with us.
    ~Lisa

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  12. We're enjoying hearing about everyone!!

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  13. The photo of Twee curled up in the food dish is just adorable!

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  14. LOL, our foster calico is like that. I have to STILL remind her to open her mouth and let it slide down her throat hole. She will go crazy bumping into a Temptation kibble treat with her face, never considering opening her mouth. She wants it but can't get it, LOL! She was the last to wean and last to figure out wet food from fingers too.
    If she hadn't eaten a nipple, I'd probably still bottle feed her to top her off, she's still the smallest. Yup. Ate a nipple. Surprise, she wasn't really that great at nursing either. Went at it like an ear of corn from one side of her mouth to the other, complaining the whole time.

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  15. Aww, I love reading about all of them, but Twee has my heart. Skootch is challenged, I'm not even sure how. He is VERY timid, always the low guy in the pecking order. He absolutely adores me, and I him. We have struggled over the years to get him to eat. My husband predicted that he wouldn't live very long [when he was a kitten], and he has managed to survive for 16+ years. Sometimes I think that the ones that need us the most are the most wonderful. I don't know. I love them all.

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  16. I've really been getting to know your household! Twee is very special, but if a little kitty like her curled up in a ramekin like the photo above, she could get away with anything if you ask me.

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  17. What a special and sweet girl Twee is and thank goodness she ended up with you. (Darling photos of her in the bowl and eating her food!)

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  18. Special needs kitties are easy to love, no matter what the special need is. The time spent assisting them, their unconditional love, perseverance, and gratefullness are only a few reasons I fell for the ones I have been lucky to be Mum to. Twee is a darling girl who many humans could learn from.

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  19. Kitties don't need smarts, just the right home. My second cat was mentally challenged, but not nearly as severely as Twee and I always joked he had too much flea powder as a kitten. It wasn't true, but many people believed it.

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  21. Twee is such a furry little character, I don't see how you could not keep her. Great story!

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  22. What a sweet girl. We are all different and unique, and that is what you loved in Twee. She didn't have to be a genius to win your hearts. That makes us very happy! XO, Lily Olivia, Maurico, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

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