Mysti

Born approx. September 6, 2002

Joined our family April 4, 2004

Domestic Short Hair - Gray

On April 4th, 2004, this  gray cat showed up on our windowsill and refused to leave.  We had no idea where she came from and, at first, we thought she was just checking us out before heading back home. However, she was still there when nightfall set in, so we took a bowl of food and water out to her. She gobbled up the food so fast that we had to give her a second helping!  Then we began to wonder if she even had a home somewhere.

The next morning she was right back on the windowsill.  We kept her food and water dish full all day long, and she only left the windowsill long enough to eat and drink, then she jumped right back up there. Mickey was quite happy sitting on the opposite side of the window, and occassionally 'showing off' for his new friend.  By the time nightfall rolled in, we had already decided that we'd bring her inside if she was still there the following morning.  Well, guess what???  She was!

Bj set about getting the breezeway fixed up by placing a temporary litter box out there, along with a bed made up from an old box.  She even threw in some cat toys to keep her company! Then she opened up the door, grabbed the food and water dish, and "miss kitty" promptly followed her inside.

The next morning, we called the vet's office and made an appointment for her.  He performed a thorough exam, including blood work for feline leukemia (which turned up negative), and he also gave her the first round of vaccinations, worming, and ear mite treatment.  Other than doing all that, he said she was in pretty good health, and about 1 - 2 years old.  He told us to keep her separated from the other cats for the next five days, though, and then it was safe to let her come inside the house.  Let me just say here, folks, that Mickey and Critter spent a LOT of time looking through the glass door, and trying to figure out who this "mystery lady" was!!  It seemed rather natural, then, to name her "Mysti".

By the time five days had passed and she came inside, all three of the cats acted like old-time friends already.  Well, almost! Critter had to let her know who was "boss", and that she had no intentions of sharing that honor, but Mickey was delighted to have someone around that would actually play with him!!

As the weeks went by, Mysti's tummy started getting bigger, and we thought at first that it was fairly normal.  But then it kept getting bigger, and lo and behold, we found out she was pregnant!!  No wonder she came to our windowsill and refused to leave! She knew that she needed a safe place to raise her family, and that's exactly what she found.

She delivered 3 beautiful kittens on June 2, 2004.  We created an "online journal" for them and you can find the link to it from the Cat Tales page, if you'd like to read about them and see photos.  The tortie female ended up going to live with Bj's daughter and her family, and we've decided to keep the two males, so now we're all bigger and happier cat families!!!