Happy Smudgeversary!
As I type this, it is one year to the minute (2230) since Spirit alerted me to a fluffy, spitty little treasure in my backyard. I’ve been so tired all day that I actually forgot all about it until about an hour ago, just when I was packing myself up for bed. Unsurprisingly, I was packing myself up for bed at the time that night as well, and had to go out in my slippers and jammies to see why Spirit was making so much noise.
She’d woo-woo’d me all through my shower, and kept woo-woo’ing until I came outside – a little bit cross, if I recall – to have her herd me all the way to the back end of my backyard. There’s a chain fence divider as part of the old dog run the separates my yard from the rear fence, and she kept pushing her nose through the holes. And every time she did, I heard a funny little hissy-spit sound. Eventually I saw the tiniest bundle of black and white fluff hiding in a tuft of grass.
I had no idea what state he was in, only that he was terribly, terribly small, and there was no sign of his mother. I’m still not sure what happened, though I’ve long suspected Spirit frightened her while she was relocating her litter. She probably dropped him and fled. :( Though I suppose she could have deserted him in worse places than my backyard.
I fetched a dish towel, in case he was hurt or cold or had soiled himself in fright. He was so spitty and hissy when I reached down to wrap it around him, but as soon as I pinched his scruff and lifted him, he went kitten-limp. And as soon as I tucked him into the towel, he started purring and snuggling and was asleep before I walked back to the house.
Spirit was so excited, but she had to stay outside for this one.
This is the first (clear) picture I have of him, taken within minutes of getting him inside – I was so stunned and perplexed, I had to share the moment on Twitter!
Now, this all happened within weeks of my dearest friend and companion passing away, so I’d be lying if I wasn’t already wondering he hadn’t come back to check on me, especially with the way this little guy kept watching me.
Anyway, I’ve actually talked about this amazing night in another plot post, so I probably don’t need to repeat myself – even on his Smudgeversary.
Really, I should just be bombing this entry with lots of Smudgeversary media! So, here are his first videos!
Awww…..
And here is our first picture together (at least where my mug is visible). He’s always tucked into my bathrobe with me – still!
And while I’m sharing videos, here’s an entry with a playlist from YouTube of Smudge and Spirit together (I can’t bear to watch it again just yet – Gosh I miss her.)
Smudge was, of course, in the last photograph I took of Spirit. He was so besotted with her!
