a little distraction...

A few weeks ago, actually ever since I quit my day job, I've been feeding a stray. Hubby named "him" "George" ("why George?" "he just looks like a George...") and so it went. George doesn't get too close, and he doesn't like it if I get too close, either.

And then there was the incident.

I looked out the window one morning, sans glasses, to see George struggling with some dark shape. Was he fighting? Having sex? Great, stray cat sex on my deck. So I got my glasses. It was a kitten! A little black kitten, in George's mouth. When I stepped onto the deck, George dropped the baby and pushed him towards me. This, from a cat that won't give me the time of day! So I scooped up baby cat and made a nest for him inside. He was hurt - big wounds all over his neck plus missing patches of fur, an ulcer on his lip, and he was running a fever. So, unnamed kitten and I went to the vet the next day & got antibiotics, which he took like a trooper.

It doesn't take long for a kitten like this - a gift of grace - to find a place in my heart. Here he is by my keyboard, playing with a flea comb and "helping" me type. He weighs 3 pounds and 4 ounces - my other cats are 20# and 15#. His name is Pino (short for Pinot Noir) - solid black, gold eyes. Against dark furniture, he disappears when he closes his eyes.