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Muffin came into my life on June 13 of 1998. She was just 1 kitten of a litter of 5. At the same time she was born, we had another cat give birth, also to 5 kittens. Both of the new mommy cats loved their kittens, and did their best to take care or them, but somehow the kittens got worms, and despite attempts to save them, only 6 of the original 10 survived, and by the time the remaining 6 were well enough to find good homes, they were almost 4 months old, and nobody wanted big cats at the time. Only 2 of the 6 got adopted, and they were to be mousers at a farm where we could tell they would be well taken care of, but the other 4 remain here to this day. Muffin made many miracles happen in my life. She had a special call she'd make when she couldn't see me. I knew that call well. She was so dear to me. I now had 10 cats, but Muffin stood out from all of them. She was always my cat, and would always be there for me when I needed something to love. When she was only 5 months, and very petite and tiny, she snuck outside while she was in heat, and came home pregnant the next morning. When she got pregnant, we decided to go get all of our other cats fixed so there would be no more sneaking out and getting pregnant. Muffin had 5 kittens. We were worried that they would kill her because she was so tiny and thin, but despite our worries Muffin thrived. When the kittens were 6 weeks old and ready to start looking for new homes, our neighbor showed up with a little calico kitten. Someone had thrown the little kitten in a garbage can behind a restaurant, and a friend of the neighbor that brought her over heard the kitten crying, and dug her out of the garbage can. It couldn't have been more than 3 weeks old, and needed a mother cat, so Muffin gladly took it in. The next day we loaded up the other kittens and stood in front of a store to try and find them new homes. All but 1 found wonderful families, but the 1 that was left was the Runt. He got sick, so we took him home and nursed him better, and he is still here today. Lucky, as we named the kitten from the garbage can, lost site in one eye from an infection she got from the garbage, but we still have her too. Muffin raised all 6 of those kittens with grace, and survived it. She never lost her loving touch either, and still loved me the most. Then tragedy struck this past summer. We had moved the cats outside after Muffin's kittens were weaned and she'd been fixed and had time to recuperate. She had been an outside cat for about a year, and in the first week of June 2001, my loving cat disappeared. I was devastated. I search all over for almost 2 months, put up fliers, knocked on doors, but nobody knew anything about my cat. After a while we just assumed that she was dead. My heart was broken, but I knew I would probably never see my cat again. A month and a half after she disappeared, a black kitten was found on the roof of a neighbor of one of my friends, and she called me, and I took the kitten home. I loved the new kitten, but still missed my Muffin horribly. Then, yesterday, December 21, 2001, my Muffin finally found her way back to me. She was in rough shape. She had been traveling for a while, and was really skinny, and had sores on one side where we think some sort of animal got her, but we didn't care. I was so happy to see my cat again. The reunion was like something out of a movie. I thought I heard her special call when I was headed off to work at the animal shelter I volunteer at regularly. I stopped for a minute and called her name. A minute later she came around the edge of a snow bank. For a minute it was like time froze. I saw her, she saw me, our eyes locked in on each other, and immediately she came running faster then I'd ever seen her run in her life. A Christmas miracle if I ever saw one. She was so happy to be home again, and I couldn't have gotten a better Christmas present. After 6 ½ months my cat had finally found her way home to me. I wish cats could talk. I'd sure like to know how she survived for that long, and what adventures she had had, and how she had gotten lost in the first place. She is glad to be home, and hardly leaves my lap for a minute. She wants to make up for all the time she lost while she was lost. Many of my neighbors don't see how I can tell which cat it is I'm petting. To them they all of my gray tabbies look alike. Obviously they don't have cats. I could tell my cats apart from any other cats in the world. There never has been and never will be another cat like my Muffin. I'm so glad that my beautiful cat finally found her way home. When I heard her call, and saw her come around the snow bank, there was no doubt in my mind that this was my kitty. I've never heard another cat imitate that call, and her peachy belly is one of a kind. A lot of people say things like this are a coincidence, that they happen by chance, and there is no other force behind them, but I know that God brought my cat home to me for Christmas. The best Christmas present I've ever had. A Christmas Miracle that I will remember as long as I live.
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Just look at this picture and tell me cats don't smile!!!! Muffin sure does. She had a bad infection in her side when I got her back. It looked like some sort of animal had clawed her up good, and the sores got infected. I was amazed at the shape she was in when she got home. I'm suprised she made it. It took a while for the infection to clear and Muffin to get her health back, and it wasn't cheap, but after all Muffin had been through to return home to us, she deserved every bit we put into her, and so much more. She is always going to hold a very special spot in our home, and especially in my heart! I don't know if I'll ever find out what happened to Muffin. She never left the yard, and it was very odd that she disappeared like that. My guess is someone stole her and she got away from them. At any rate, she had obviously traveled a long ways, and the going wasn't easy for her. It just goes to show what a bit of love can do! Muffin's heart will always belong to me. No matter what happens in the future, I'm going to make sure nothing like this ever happens to my precious baby again! |
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