I hesitate even writing this post because I really think it makes me sound like a crazy cat lady. But of course, I kind of am, so I might as well accept it.
Two weeks after our wedding this little lady found her way to me. I convinced Tyler to let her stay with us for one night, just until I could get her to the animal shelter. Now, two months later she is a steadfast part of our crazy family.
As such, I thought she deserved a little blog post update.
So first of all, as you likely know, she’s blind. Not sure if she even has eyes, but if she does they are super small, underdeveloped, and/or non-functional.
The day we got her she was so freaked out that I couldn’t get close enough to inspect whether she was a boy kitten or a girl kitten. I went with boy because it didn’t really matter what sex she was since we weren’t keeping her.
“He” got “his” name because I made a smart-ass, off-the-cuff comment the first night. I said, “Alright little Blinkin, let’s put you to bed,” or something like that. Tyler and I laughed at how horrible it was, and of course that‘s what we called “him” all night long.
Obviously I was wrong on the gender and wrong about the animal shelter. And then I had named my girl kitten after a boy character. But whatever, we live in the 21st century. She can have whatever name she wants. And according to me, she wants to be called Blinkin.
A few thoughts about how little Blinkin came to be who she is and how she eventually came to be ours:
She was probably six weeks old when we got her; kittens start to really develop eyesight at about five to six weeks. So my guess is that she got left behind when her littermates became a bit more mobile and could, you know, see the things around them.
She was very clean when we got her, and she wasn’t skinny at all, so I don’t think she had been alone or hungry for too long. BUT! She was an utter, frantic, asshole when she was eating. The second night we had her she ended up dangling from my index finger by her teeth because she got pissed when I tried to adjust something with her food while she was eating. She just clamped down and was there, hanging, all spitting and growling and mean. Seriously, she lucky she’s cute and that I am not as much of an asshole as she was.
Parents of wild animals will often give less attention to a sick baby than the healthy ones. I think it’s just about conserving resources. Like, “If you’re going to be blind and probably die anyway, there’s no point in making sure you get fed now.” From an evolutionary perspective, it’s better to put energy into the ones that have a better chance of surviving. As such, I’m guessing she was last to the table when it came to mealtime with her siblings, and she probably had to fight for it when she did get to join in.
Poor little Blinkin. Left behind when it was time to eat and left behind when it was time to start using her eyes.
I’m so happy she found us and won’t be left behind any more.
I plan on writing Blinkin updates for a while. You can check back here periodically to see how she’s doing or you can follow the Instagram account I created for her and JD at @bear_dog_and_blinkin.
Yes. I have become that person…and it’s so much fun!
Melissa Lucas Writes 