Punkin adopted me in August of 1998. I came home for lunch from work, and there was Punkin, lying on my front proch like he owned the place. He certainly was not shy,and was actually quite affectionate. I thought maybe he belonged to somebody in the neighborhood, although I knew most of the neighborhood animals. Two days later, he had not left, so I began asking my neighbors if they knew him, and nobody did. I began feeding him, and he was mine! I took him to the vet and he got all of his vaccinations. I am not sure how old he was, but I would guess a year or so. I have speculated that somebody must have dumped him off. He obviously wasn't a stray, as he was so friendly and affectionate.
Punkin obviously was named for his orange color. He is a beautiful long-hair orange tabby with aquamarine eyes. He is just gorgeous. Punkin has turned out to be an appropriate name in a different sense as well. I usually wind up shortening his name to "Punk", and that's exactly what he can be sometimes. Someone can be petting him and have him purring one minute, and the next he will all of a sudden snap at you, as if you are doing something wrong to him. He usually only snaps, but occasionally will bite as well. I do not know why he does this, but I have come to speculate that he may be schizophrenic! Most of the time, he is a very sweet kitty, and I am thankful that I have him.
He stays outside and inside. There was quite an adjustment period for Scooter and Creampuff when I first introduced Punkin, but they all get along fine now. Punkin's favorite spots in the house are my bed, a cardboard box in the living room (put there just for him), and under a round table in the living room hidden under it's table cloth. When he hides out under the tablecloth, beware of big white paws suddenly shooting out from there at your feet! He sleeps with us at night too, usually cuddled up with me like a teddy bear with his head on my pillow with mine.
I am glad that Punk found my house out of all the ones he could have gone to. I also wish that every animal that is dumped off by some pitiful excuse for a human being could be so lucky. I strongly encourage anyone reading this to please, if you ever have to give up a pet, take it to a shelter or give it to someone you know. Don't ever put them in the postion of being homeless, hungry, thirsty and cold/hot. |
