Elsa
is a special kitten, who was oxygen deprived at birth. This left her
behind her siblings in development; at three months she was tiny and frail,
very unsteady, and overbalancing easily, smaller than our male guinea pig
Arthur. Her owners were keeping all of her siblings, but didn't want Elsa, so
they took her to the vet, and asked for her to be put to sleep. The vet
refused, telling them that instead they would try to find a home for her. At
around the same time, my mum had to take her guinea pig to the vet; vet Louise
asked mum if she wanted a kitten, telling her she would otherwise be put to
sleep. She also told mum she knew we were soft-touches and she knew the kitten
would have a good home with us! What could she say to that, in the face of the
adorable, frail, blue-eyed kitten? Mum named her after Elsa the lion cub, hand
raised by George and Joy Adamson, as she too was a runt. The first picture
attached is of her on her first night home, aged three months, when her eyes
were still blue. The others are all recent ones.
Within a week, she was already stronger, and more sure of herself. It didn't
take her long before she was chasing two of our adult cats, who were
completely bemused by her. The third, fifteen year old Chucky, became her
hero. She followed him everywhere, imitating everything he did, and when he
lay down to sleep, she would too; for a few minutes. All the same, she has a
very healthy respect for him; she knows exactly how far she can push him, but
usually goes a little bit over. It was our dog, Beaudine, she fell in love with
when she came into heat. We left spaying a bit later, as mum was worried about
surgery on such a tiny thing, and poor Beaudine didn't know where to look, as
she came smooching around him, purring her head off. You could see him
blushing. He nuzzles and licks her back only when he thinks no one is looking.
Elsa is now eight months, but is still the size of a three month old, and is
certainly just as immature as one! One of her favorite forms of exercise is
bouncing off walls, trying to walk on them. Shredding wallpaper never fails,
either. She is currently obsessed with trying to escape outside, but given
that a hawk tried to run off with her last time she was out, she is staying an
indoor cat.
See more images of Elsa!
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