About two months ago, my husband came home from work a little later than usual. I was not worried; I knew what kept him. My son did not. He was thrilled to see dad walk in with an itty-bitty kitty, our first family cat! We were all so excited. The kitten was so tiny, small enough to hold in the palm of your hand. He was a mess covered in burrs, ticks, and desperately needing a bath. His eyes were goopy, possibly an upper respiratory infection. He and his family were found by a friend of ours, abandoned in a box. They all needed care, so we decided to help and adopted one.

He was frightened the first couple days. We cut the burrs out, bathed him and brushed him. He has long black fur with a regal mane. I love his unique white markings on his tail and face. He also has a white belly and paws. We decided to call him Exmoor. This was inspired by the cryptid, The Black Beast of Exmoor. It did not take him long to warm up to the idea of being an indoor cat. He warmed up to us quickly and took any chance he could to sleep in our laps. He already earned the nickname Purr Monster for reasons you can guess. His eyes seemed to be getting better as well.

I was surprised by how lethargic he was, though. He hardly played like a kitten should. He slept all the time, a great deal even for a cat. He always wanted to stay in the bathroom and lay on wet towels. My husband suspected he was trying to stay cool. He was very calm for a kitten.

Then one day, his eye started to swell. I immediately scheduled an appointment with the vet and took him in a couple days later. I was informed he had a virus, a kind of “cat herpes”. The swollen eye was beyond treatment and I was shocked when they told me it had to be removed. He also had a fever which would explain the seclusion in the bathroom. Over the next couple weeks we gave him antibiotics and eye ointment until his fever broke so they could start the surgery. I was worried for our new kitten but was assured that after the procedure, he would bounce right back. And so he did.

They kept him for two days after the surgery. When we brought him home, he was instantly ecstatic! He was purring as loud as I ever heard. He seemed so thankful to be home with us. He really did miss his new home. Once he showed his love, he began running around like a basket case. He was literally bouncing off the walls. Though he was only a few pounds, it sounded like an elephant running back and forth across the floor. He used the couch like a jungle gym, leaping from cushion to cushion. He even ran up to both of our dogs and greeted them happily. Exmoor was a brand new kitten!

Now, he sleeps all day and plays all night. He’s acting as kittens should, CRAZY! And the lack of an eye doesn’t seem to be bothering him at all. Well, except for his depth perception. There were those few times he jumped for the table and missed completely falling to the floor. It’s hard not to laugh, especially when he takes off like a bat outta’ hell afterwards. Only to come back later and try again.

Exmoor is a great joy to have around and I feel great knowing that he really does appreciate what we have done for him. He has a lot of personality and is very intelligent. We lucked out with this one and he lucked out with us!

Next week he will be getting his stitches out and his transformation to Cyclops Kitten will be complete. There have also been a lot more pirate jokes going around the house lately. ARRRRRR!

We couldn’t have saved our kitten without the help of family and friends pitching in for the surgery. I am forever grateful to them. Sorry for the late blog post, as this has been one hell of a week for me! Thanks for checking in! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Until next time,

“We passed a miserable night and then watched the Cyclops make breakfast of two more of our companions.” (The Odyssey, Book 9)