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Charlie's Chatter

Charlie's Chatter for November

This month was Charlie's birthday...he turned four and the morning of, I actually think he KNEW it was HIS day...because he lazily glanced at me and sat almost waiting to see what I would do...Of course I ran to him and grabbed him up and ...about broke my back....Charlie is no longer a small cat, not that he has ever really been....but anyway he now weighs a hefty [real good weight...said the vet] of 19 pounds....and I felt every ounce when I lifted him to my arms the morning of his birthday. I started singing Happy Birthday to You...to Charlie and rocking him like I always do on HIS day...and he actually SMILED and winked at me, while all spread out in my arms like some beached whale...LOL. For Charlie's day and Peanuts too...but that's another story....LOl....anyway for Charlie's Day I always buy him new catnip toys and treats and he will actually unwrap his own gifts in a frenzy to get to the catnip...only this time...there was Peanut in the middle ,smelling the air and trying to "help" Charlie open his gifts....poor Peanut...only to have Charlie HISS at him, and warn him away. Peanut looked up at me and walked over to the LR rug and plopped down with a mad look in his eyes all the while staring at Charlie as he tore apart his paper and bows. The good part was Charlie grabbed the first catnip toy [a doggy...LOL] and started running around jumping with it and throwing it in the air and running to grab it and half-kick it to death had it already not been alive...LOL....and that gave Peanut the chance to run and grab another catnip toy from Charlie's "pile" and play with it too....soon both of them were chasing each other through the house, like speed demons, knocking over my Thanksgiving decorations and plants and messing my bed completely with their jumping and wrestling around with each other on it. Good old Cat Nip...works EVERY time. Then they got to share ....and Charlie did share this time....a huge piece of TUNA CAKE with whipped cream squrited on top....Charlie will die for whipped cream....and Tuna...so needless to say he ate almost the whole thing while Peanut ...being polite since it was FOR Charlie afterall...LOL....nibbled at the tuna and licked only twice the whipped cream on top....then went back to playing with his new catnip toy....while Charlie stuffed his face. It's no wonder he's FAT...what a piggy! He ate steadly for about 15 minutes...geesh!.....and then very, very slowly waddled over to his cat tree and slowly, almost as if he were Templton-The Rat in Charlottes Web, when he went to the fair, and ate everything in sight...LOL.....so anyway....I watched as Charlie very painfully jumped a step or platform at a time [he had four to clear before reaching the top] and each step he would stop as if catching his breath....then he slowly made it to the top and literally fell down into the crows nest...and slept the ENTIRE DAY AWAY. Didn't wake up until around 11 PM.....WoW must be nice to be Charlie...that day anyway. And Peanut....he played with his catnip toy all day and finally around 2PM fell asleep on my messy bed amoung the covers. Both my furrbabies very full and content and actually happy....then again...isn't THAT what birthdays are all about...making sure that the birthday baby gets everything he really loves and then is allowed to sleep the day away from contentment. I sure wish I were a cat and having a birthday....I think I too would fall into bed and sleep the day away also. I will be posting NEW pics of both Charlie and Peanut so you can see how BIG they have both grown....so keep watching for them, and thanks to all who attended Charlie's party....LOL...and watched in awe as this four year old ran around [fat as he is] like a newborn kitten. So until next time my friends...keep the toes warm and the noses cold. Meow-Meow
Huggs and Purrs
Cricket, Charlie and Peanut

Woe is Me!

Hi Folks...Today is a very special day for Charlie.
Not only is it the first time he has a diary entry but it's also the first time since winter that he's been able to go outside...on a leash, of course.
Charlie LOVES the outdoors and he views the leash as a necessary evil, which he is well aware of it's values. The first time Charlie became aware of how valuable his collar and leash could be, was in 2002. T hat, was the year Charlie got sideswiped by a gas truck. Since Charlie was a rescue/feral he was use to the outside and so I felt that as long as he stayed out of the street, he would be ok. Duh, my ignorance almost cost Charlie his life. Charlie was walking home from the nearby river, and he always took the "scenic" route via the weeds and bike trails. On this fateful day in July, for some odd reason Charlie chose to use the sidewalks...and (eye witness reported) at some point Charlie became distracted by the sound of flowing water in one of the man-hole covers...so he stood there and tried to peek down the little lug-nut holes to see if he could glimpse where the water was rushing to from under the street. Charlie was so obsorbed with what he was doing, thast he did not hear nor see the huge gas company truck come barreling down the side road. Any other day, the streets would have been filled with children playing outside and skating in and out of the cul-de-sac but it was a school day and only around noon, so the streets were empty, except for Charlie. The next thing that happened actually happened so fast that the eye-witness reported that they didn't see anything "transpire" per sey, but that one minute Charlie's there, and the next Charlie's gone. The eye-witness happened to be our newspaper boy who was home sick from school and had been sitting on the porch of his home just looking around and enjoying the sunshine. The NPB noticed Charlie and the truck and proceeded to call and scream at Charlie to "run"...words I taught him and that he actually obeys, but for some odd reason Charlie did not hear him, and the boy watched in horror as the truck barreled down straight at Charlie, who mercifully was still looking into the man-hole. After the truck ( which never once used it's brakes) rummbled past, the NPB watched in silence to see if Charlie has escaped, or if he was hurt and dying. Much to his surprise, there were no signs of Charlie, period.
The NPB continued to look for signs and after not seeing any for an hour he decided that Charlie had fled at the last second and was probably already home and in hiding. I have wished many times after that day, that it really had been swift and quick , just like the NPB had thought. I didn't find out how bad Charlie had been hurt until later that evening when my DH spotted Charlie literally CRAWLING up our drive, home. We rushed him to the Vet Hospital which was (luckly) just a mile down the road, and after the doctor cleaned him up and x-rayed his body, all Charlie got for his troubles, was an overnight stay in the hospital. The prognosis was more shock then injured., but unknown to most people shock kills faster then does any wound, short of one directly in your heart. So Charlie was given some antibotics just to be safe, and some pain pills for his bruised body and ego, and sent home to recover. When we arrived home, later that evening, we were met by our NPB who told us what he had witnessed and then he handed us Charlie's collar with his ID Tags still attached. The boy explained that he was so worried about Charlie that when his mother got home he asked if he could go searching for him, she agreed and off he went. Andy said that he walked up and down the road and didn't see any blood or fur or anything that might tell him what happened to Charlie...and just as he was about to go on home, he noticed something reflecting off the setting sun, something in a sewer drainage pipe. He quickly walked over and knelt down to look inside and there hanging from a nail was Charlie's collar. Apparently it had caught on the nail SAVING Charlie from certain death, and held long enough for Charlie to grasp the edge and pull himself up and out. Then and only then, did the "Break-Away" collar break. Freeing Charlie to climb out of the man-hole. What a MIRICLE for my ANGEL cat, Charlie. Needless to say, Charlie still goes outside, but only on a leash now. And he will gladly allow me to put it on over his head, which is what we are about to do here as soon, as I finished with this diary entry. So now, fellow feline-lovers, if you glance at Charlie's "Nine Lives" stats, you will understand why he only has a few left. And if he doesn't stop clawing me to hurry up and finsh this, he may loose those too! Until next time Fur-People, remember... keep the feet warm, and the noses cold. Cricket and Charlie's Chattering on the move. Meow, Meow. >^..^