Haiku - Cat - I Am Not Prickly, I'm just a big ol' softy, with sharp needle toes

The image above, of our lovely Musica girl, which combined with my haiku, is an apt description of interacting with her on a daily basis.

She showed up at a neighbor's house, a few years back, and the neighbor between us called me to see if I was missing one of my cats.

Interestingly, when she showed up at our neighbor's house, she made friends with his dog before she made friends with him, leading us both to believe that she had come from a home with dogs.

He was under the impression that she was a kitten, whereas I was pretty sure that she was a young adult; I took her to the vet, who confirmed that she was "2 years and one month old," though how he could be THAT specific, without knowing her birthdate, is mystifying.

As it turned out, she had already been spayed, so that at least was an expense we didn't have to incur. And the neighbor whose home she showed up at would have loved to keep her, but his wife is severely allergic to cats, so it simply wasn't possible.

We, on the other hand, took to her immediately, and she to us. And she immediately made friends with the two cats we already had at the time, my lovely Bear boy, and our lovely and sweet Edit, and with our dog Lolo.

She and Edit began a longstanding mutual flirtation, which was both gratifying and hilarious to witness, and she showed up shortly after we lost our cat Miod, who had shown up on our place when Lolo was a puppy, so she was a most welcome addition, who showed up at the perfect time.

Musica LOVES to be petted, and the moment you touch her, she turns on her instant purr, letting you know immediately how much she appreciates being fondled and massaged.

And she is more than willing to give it in return, although as my haiku states, I clearly need to clip her claws more frequently.

Although she has excellent manners overall, which convinced me that she once had a good and loving home, she flexes her claws into my leg far too often, meaning that I need to be far more diligent in my claw-clipping.

A couple of years later, our youngest cat Truffle showed up as a starving kitten at the same neighbor's home, and Musica stepped up immediately and became foster mom to the new kitten. They still are close, investigate and groom one another when one or both come in from outside, and play together nightly.

The hilarious part is that they have silent mock battles, usually played out on the kitchen floor, which would be quite dramatic to anyone who doesn't know them, but I know them as the farce they really are.

And, after their "battles," they generally curl up together, often with Bear, in front of the heater. They are both sweet girls, and I owe a lot to Musica for having helped to train Truffle, and to mould her into the wonderful, beautiful, and loving cat she has since become.

When Truffle first showed up, the same neighbor in-between us called to ask if our neighbor Russ was missing a kitten, as his cat had recently had kittens, and I had taken care of them while he was out of town.

But as soon as I went to see her, it was obvious that she was several weeks younger than the other litter, and clearly starving, as her spine and ribs were clearly obvious, despite her long fur.

Marek was with me when I picked her up, fully intending to call a friend in Cookeville who rescues unwanted cats, and Marek immediately told me - multiple times - that the kitten couldn't stay. Fair enough.

But then, as she was in a small carrier atop a much larger carrier, that I was preparing for her to sleep in that night, Marek and Lolo began making friends with her through the bars of the carrier door, and I heard him ask Lolo, "What do you think, Lolo? Can the new kitty stay?"

And, as I was finishing getting the larger carrier ready for her, he called out, "I asked the new kitty her name, and she says her name is Truffle,"

To which I replied, "Trouble?"

And he said, "No, Truffle, but Trouble might be a better name."

So Truffle she is, and remains. Several of the Alliance members got to meet her during our gathering in north Georgia, a couple of years ago, shortly after she came into our lives.

Frankly, she had the good sense to be a tortoiseshell cat, like two of my husband's previous cats, and being the sweetheart that she is, not to mention a really pretty cat, she charmed him from the outset.

Life is wonderful, and is getting better, better, and better.

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