It's St Pat's and Darby's 16th Gotcha Day!

Darby here today...St. Pat's and  Thankful Thursday to boot.  We are so very grateful for each and every one of you.  Knowing you care  helps us get through the ups and downs of life with 15 formerly feral cats!

Sweetpea with her paw

Before we get to my party - we had a serious vet visit for 17 year old Sweetpea this week.  She had not been eating and was losing weight.  It turned out to be a few things - she is hyperthyroid, had an infected tooth which was removed and she had an infected claw on her right front paw which was cleaned up.  All things have been taken care of  - she is hobbling along on a bandaged foot and sequestered in the master bedroom/bath for a week.  She needs to have shredded paper for litter until her paw heals over to keep it from getting re-infected.  Thanks so much for all the purrs for her.

Me not long after I was caught and spayed.

 Now for me - hard to believe it has been 16 years since Mom and Pop took me in.  I was living under their house in a crawlspace with a possum!  He would come out at night and I would come out during the day.  I was so feisty to other cats, protecting my territory, Mom thought I was a boy and named me the Irish male name of  Darby!  Oh well.  A lot of feral cats lived in this neighborhood and I just showed up all by myself  in the winter that year.  She figured I was born in the fall of 1999.

Early shot of me

I was tough to tame and Mom spent months working with me and an animal behaviorist to get to even pet me.  I would smack her hand with my paw.  I was scared and didn't know what was going on.  Even now I get rattled easy and can still smack the beans but they still love me.  I really bonded with mom since she spent so much time with me in the beginning.

Me at our old house.

Anyway, I am so happy to have been gotcha'd by the beans.  I have had a great life - I lived in their shop with Minnie for a few months until we all moved in one house together.  Then we all moved to where we are now  with all the white cats and I love it.  I enjoy looking out the window at goat, pony, turkey and bird TV, helping Mom on the computer, hanging out with Pop when he watches TV.  I don't even mind all my many brothers and sisters.  It sure beats living on my own outdoors.  Feral cats deserve love too!

Helping Mom

So put on some green and help yourself to the nip snacks and green munchies in honor of St Pat's and me!  Thanks for coming and for being our friends.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!