Thursday, September 24, 2020

Remember Me Thursday: Fleurp's Story


Remember Me Thursday's contest asks this question: Tell us a story of how your rescue pet changed your life! 

While many of my cats, and many of my fosters, changed my life, none so changed my perceptions as much or as often as Fleurp.  This is her story

Fleurp's Story:

Remember me Thursday: Fleurp

Fleurp came to me in 2008 as a foster kitten. I had run to the shelter for supplies for the kittens I was already fostering, but something made me look up at a cage that was above my eye level. There she sat, all meatloafed with an eye all swollen, looking for all intents and purposes to be a rather pathetic soul. As I walked up to her cage to make soothing noises at her, she stood up and screamed at me and told me in no uncertain terms I was coming home with her. She was ANYTHING but pathetic. Spitfire was more like it.  She took no guff from anyone or anything, which is probably how she ended up in the condition she did.

Fleurp as a kitten

I had originally thought she had an upper respiratory infection due to the nature of that eye. She had evidence that she had been dealing with fleas and her ears were caked with ear mite debris. I bathed her and cleaned out her ears and began treating her for URI. Well, as it turns out she had actually been bitten as she had a few small scabs on the top of her head and under her jaw. I thought it would be sad that her eye was impaired even though it eventually healed; watching her adjust to her new impaired eyesight was very interesting. She had depth perception issues for a month or two, but then she just "got it" and it has never been an issue for her again.

While I was fostering her, she presented with a really large belly. I was so sure she was full of worms that I asked the shelter to test her multiple times (every time was negative) and dewormed her anyway just as many times (not all stool samples show worms). After long past what should have been a worm clearing amount of medication she still had a big round belly. I decided not to worry about it unless something else showed up. She still has that belly today and I jokingly call her my fuzzy watermelon on legs. Fleurp decided I was her person that very first day - who am I to deny what she so clearly knew.


Years later Fleurp became anemic. She started licking dirt and cement, even going so far as to eat a few chunks of cement the vet found upon x-ray. While I thought I knew what caused it, she stumped not only me but multiple vets that have treated her over the years. See, after that initial bout of anemia, she became anemic the same time year after year. Every time in the late spring just before summer she drops a lot of weight and starts looking for something inappropriate to lick.  For years we treated her with antibiotics and steroids, but finally, I took a proactive approach. The only thing different in her life in the spring is that she sheds her winter mane and her very fluffy coat. By shaving her coat once it starts getting warm enough, we have been able to mitigate the worst of her symptoms so she no longer needs steroids to survive. 

Remember me Thursday: Fleurp

Beyond all of this, she has given us so much love and joy that my husband calls her "my little sunshine" She is sweet and sassy, patient and demanding. She often is mysterious to us, even after having owned cats for 40 some odd years and fostered so many. She keeps us on our toes and rewards us for it daily. She has presented me with many opportunities to shift out of my own preconceived notions of what things are to accept that not always what they seem. She often rejects my reality and substitutes her own and takes me along for the ride.

All this from "just a shelter cat" that very well could have been euthanized at another shelter due to her injury, her small size, the lack of resources, the lack of volunteers to help out. So many other cats and dogs and rabbits and birds and various other pocket pets are waiting for their humans to give love and help them learn and grow. Pets bring such joy to pet owners and lovers.. 

If you are not in a position to adopt this year, please consider donating to your local shelter. If you don't have a favorite local shelter, consider Colony Cats out of Ohio, which is currently supporting two amazing little kittens I so very much want to run over and adopt (which btw is an excessively long drive from where I am) but I am currently not in a place to adopt more kitties.. 


Remember Me Thursday

19 comments:

  1. Fleurp is spectacularly fleurpy ❤️

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  2. Love Fleurp... so glad you listened and continue to listen to her wisdom .... scritches sweet girl❤️❤️

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  3. Fleurpy, a cat after my own heart! I adore her!
    Adopt, don't shop...rescued is our favorite breed.

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  4. Fleurp is pretty special!

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  5. Fleurp is a special kitty. I love her coloring.

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  6. Love the Fleurp. And thanks for the shout out to Colony

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  7. hay ewe gorgeouz; yur storee iz amazin & sew R ewe fleurp !!! ♥♥♥

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  8. Fleurp is such a beautiful girl. I'm grateful that she found you.

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  9. Beautiful story of love for a beautiful girl.

    The Florida Furkids

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  10. Beautiful post. We enjoyed reading Fleurp's story ! Purrs

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  11. Fleurp was smart to choose you! What a precious girl.

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  12. Baby Fleurp!!!! I've always found her so fascinating - and your story about her reality being her own just confirms it!

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  13. Fleurp is such a fascinating enigma!

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  14. We love that Fleurp found her way to you. She is amazing, and so are you!

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  15. Thanks for sharing Fleurp's story ! We live iin Ohio but we aren't able to take in any more cats either but we send them purrayers !

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  16. We really enjoyed Fleurp's story. What a cat! What a Cat Rescuer! Thanks so much for the story that will surely help others to see that all cats will be just right for your family. I had a kitty that had her eye knocked out of her head. How I still dont know but like Fleurp it went back in and she lived with that for years hunting like anything. I still miss Angel Ming. Purrs

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  17. What a beautiful story of how Fleurp came into your life. You literally saved her life. What a lucky girl she was when you came to the shelter that day.

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  18. Such a beautiful story. I am so glad Fleurp got a happy ending.

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