First Orange

Red has always been my absolute favorite color, and on down the line I like purples, blues, blue-greens.  Yellow is OK, I suppose, but as far back as I can remember, orange has always been my least favorite color.  Oddly enough though, starting a few weeks ago, orange began to insert itself into my life:  quite subtly at first, and then with a decided force.

I began by photographing the few proud day lilies that the deer had not eaten.  Then, I discovered a monarch butterfly inside my house, sitting boldly on the bathroom window.  OK, methinks, maybe orange is not so bad a color after all.

Then, about a week ago, when I was thinking good thoughts about the color orange, the trap was sprung by the first orange kitten.  Beautiful orange-on-orange marbled swirls all over his body and blue-within-blue sapphire eyes - what a cutie!  I knew right away that I was the one who had been trapped.  I also knew with his spice eyes that he would have to be a Dune cat so I named him eventually named Leto II, but until I was sure of the Dune name I called him First Orange.

"First Orange"

Two days later, no more felines had been captured (momcat and the rest of the litter had seemingly vanished), I returned to the old neighborhood and began nosing around.  I was looking for the person or persons who had been feeding momcat.  I found the tortie momcat lying most regally on Miss Lucy’s back porch, right next to a platter of catfood and a bowl of water.  She blinked at me, meowed a few times, and then resumed her nap.

There was no sign of her kittens.  I had neighbors looking hither and yon and not one kit was to be found.  At the end of the day a neighbor helped to grab momcat and put her into a carrier to be reunited with her firstborn son.  He was over-the-moon thrilled to see her and she just kinda rolled her eyes and said, “But you said my life would be different now….”

I returned to the neighborhood the following day and one by one, the remaining five kittens were plucked from their hiding places behind Miss Lucy’s garage and in the adjoining yards.  Two orange ones, one dark tiger.  Then a search of several hours before nabbing the two remaining jet-black darlings.  They fought like little devils but we got ‘em!

So now it has been decided that momcat, named Lucy, is top be my new shopcat (my shop screams for a shopcat, doncha think?) and little Leto is going home with me along with coal-black Lola, the only girl in the litter.  The rest will be on view at my shop and at various pet stores on Saturdays until they all find homes.   They were born on July 2, so they are currently 6 weeks old.

The traps were borrowed from 10th Chance Animal Rescue so here’s a huge “THANK YOU!” to my old friend Chris Bogan for all of her time and sage advice and another huge “THANK YOU!” to Dr. Keisha Hawkins and Lacey at the Kenmore Animal Hospital for giving these critters such an outstanding experience on their first trip to the vet.

Leto II (Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr)