It’s set in stone now. First, she meets me at the door with her squeaky meow. Sounding more like mice squeaking, the meow is finding its way into the world, pushing past ugly white ulcers that once barred its path. She hops on to the top of the cage waiting for her butterfly-flutters- a name I came up with when she first arrived. So crazed Shell became if I didn’t pet her and when I did, her fragile skin would break open and bleed. So, I would put the bottoms of my fingers flat against her chest and move my three fingers mimicing a bug in flight. She would lean into these gentle caresses, and now, they seem to be standard fare.

Back to the bed I go to get ready for the day. With a flying leap to outrival Secret Squirrel and Atom Ant she leaps the four feet across to the bed and now wants real time with Mom.

Twenty minutes later after she has been saturated with head rubs and gentle pets (her skin is now starting to have padding beneath it) tearing is no longer an issue, she is sated and waiting for her food.

Her food consists of a mixture of vitamins and canned goodness plus a generous dose of L-Lysine. Calicivirus was confirmed yesterday from the vet. The strain is strong causing her oral issues. Her meds are coming from Texas. She will likely have more mouth treatments but for now we wait for the meds which she will be on for life.

I clean her litterboxes and she is right there helping me. As I measure out the sand, she bumps my hand. “More Mom, I need more.” Obliging her, I keep pouring. I get a piece of dust in my eye and as I am putting eye drops in, she is again “helping” me. That gentle nudge on my upraised arm almost made me go blind for a moment when the tip of the eye wash bottle touched my eyeball! But, she was just “helping.” Clumsy human that I am, she needs to take care of me.

Three more cats arrived yesterday, older, beautiful kitties. One a stunning long-hair Siamese, Ragdoll or Himalyan mixture. My education in mouth ulcers still fresh, I check mouths- yep, there they are- more ulcers to contend with although none near as severe as those of Shell’s. The dilute, short haired Tortie is having problems walking on one back leg, again a classic sign of Calicivirus either that or a collision with a car.

They are upstairs in one room and the white one, the girl is most reclusive, hiding from me so that I can’t see what those black spots are on her tip of her ears…yet…

So the morning ritual is set in stone and each day, Shell shows me she is getting stronger. I look at her chopstick thin legs and marvel how it is she is still with us. She must have inherited the heart of a lion.

Rigby