Ohai!

I'm Angel.  I'm a big fluffy orange girl kitty who's been living with my mom n dad for, hm... mom, how long?  Three n a half years now.  Mom said I could use her blog to tell my story.  And Mom's going to fix up my spelling so hyoomins can read it more easily.  This is me:

Mom and Dad and Mom's mom were all renting a house together.  They had kitties inside, but they were putting food out on the porch every night for the strays.

I ran away from where I was before.  They fed me, sure, but they did things that were mean to me a lot.  I was an adult, but not very old, Mom and the vet thought about a year or so, which I guess is close enough.  I wandered around and got hungry, and I found the food at Mom's house.  I ate there that night, and I went back the next night.  Mom and her family saw me, and convinced me to come inside.  Mom put me upstairs in the room she used as an office.  There was cat food and water there already, a couple of inches off the floor on the lower level of a table, but I was terrified, I couldn't go on the furniture, I was sure someone would punish me!  Mom put it on the floor for me and I started eating like crazy.  Then I found a nice dark safe spot under a chair and went to sleep.

For the next couple of days, Mom spent lots of time in her office with me.  She sat on the floor and let me come to her, and she petted me so gently, and she didn't mind that I kept getting anxious about food and running back for a bite to eat every minute or two and then coming back for more pettings.  There were other kitties in the house, they sniffed around the door, and Trick, he's my best friend now, kept sticking his paw under the door at me.

Mom said she put up posters that she'd found me, in case someone was missing me, even though she wasn't so sure that was a good idea given how scared I was all the time.  Mom knew pretty quick that I wasn't just scared because I'd had a couple of rough days and was still shaken up, but that I was scared because people had been mean to me a lot before that.

Mom finally let me out of the room, after a few days, and let me meet the other cats.  The boys were okay, but the one other female really didn't like me at all.  She lives with Mom's mom anyway, and we moved a couple of months later, and there was enough space in the house that we mostly avoided each other.

I was still scared, though.  Noises, or being on furniture, or jumping up in windowsills, or brooms, or, oh, lots of things.  The first time I just could not keep from bringing up a furball, Mom was right there, and I was so terrified, I kept watching her and trying to choke it back down.  Mom just sat down and talked quietly to me, and when I couldn't stop the furball, she just cleaned it up and didn't get mad at me at all.  I heard her tell Dad a bit later that she'd never seen a cat look so frightened of something so simple.  I can't help getting furballs, I have a lot of fur you know!  Sometimes I still try not to bring them up, but no one ever yells at me now, so it's not so bad when I do.

I have this, well, thing... I hold sweaters in my teeth and knead at them with my front paws and it makes me feel like a little kitten again with my kitty-mom.  My eyes go closed and I purr so loud Mom once said I woke her up from eight feet away.  Sometimes I drag the sweaters around to the spot that I want.  Ones that smell a lot like Mom or Dad are best.  I used to get scared when someone noticed me, but no one minds.  Sometimes now I even drag the sweaters so I can be close to Mom or Dad when I do it, and they just wait until I'm done and then give me cuddles.  I don't do it as often now, except that I do it more often if something is making me nervous, like noises outside or something.

I even climb up on furniture now!  Mom and Dad praised me and petted me and gave me treats every time I tried something new, and now, I'm not scared even to jump up on top of the tall bookshelf, although the boys get annoyed at me because they thought that was their private space.  I sleep on the bed during the day sometimes, and I sleep on Mom's pillow for part of the night some nights, or on the pillow in between Mom's and Dad's that they keep there for me.  I love Dad, but he wears this noisy mask thing to bed and I don't like being that close to it, even though I'm not scared of it.

I still get anxious about food sometimes, even though Mom always makes sure that we eat well.  If the crunchy food bowl gets low, well, I used to get all freaked out, but now, I just sit by it and wait to get Mom's attention so she'll fill it for me.

I even enjoy outdoors now, as long as it's on our balcony, because I know I'm safe there.  And when people come to visit, I don't run and hide anymore, I come check them out, and if they seem nice, I even let them pet me.  People are always telling me what a beautiful kitty I am.

Mom thinks I'm most beautiful when I'm being brave, though.  I like lying in wait for the boys and swatting them or jumping out at them and making them take off running.  Mom laughs like crazy when I'm chasing a string, or wrestling with my favourite mouse and throwing it around the bed and pouncing on it and bunny-kicking it.  When I want cuddles, I can almost always have them, and when Mom and Dad aren't available, I go wash one of the boys instead.  Loki got all confused by that at first, but now I think he's decided he likes it.

Oh, and I have an important job now!  Well, two, really, but I don't know if keeping the boys in line counts.  Dad has bad pain all the time, and when it's really bad and his eyes get leaky from it, my job is to sit next to his head and purr as hard as I can.  Sometimes I know when his back muscles are going to start spasming and I try to be with him then. Dad calls me his nurse, and I know it makes him feel better if I'm with him when he's hurting.  Sometimes I wash his face and act like he's my kitten.

So, after three and a half years of love and patience, mostly these days I'm just scared of the broom (that makes me run and hide when Mom is sweeping) or Dad's cane or anything like that, and sudden loud noises, and not very much else!  Other kittehs out there that are scared need to know that.  So do their hyoomins, that sometimes it takes a long time for all the scaredness to let go, but it can happen!  Ai gotta go see if there's any catnip left from yesterday's party, now.  Kthxbai!