This old thing

 The titular 'old thing' is a cat stand that was donated to the charity by its long-time supporter. That kind man actually asked the stand to be given to the 'cat lady with the blue and white rug'. Well, that's me, I guess. And this is it:

It's a modest thing, yes, but a thing that reminds us that sometimes it's the little things that can make all kinds of difference. And this little cat stand has brought so much joy and comfort to so many little felines. It's lost some of its sheen over time, sure, the cute cushion on top is missing most of the time, but it is still one of the biggest attractions in the kitten room, as far as the kittens are concerned;)

And this little blog post is all about paying pictorial homage to the generous donor.

The first kittens that got to check out the gift that just won't quit giving were Ripple, Vicious and Tiger.

Ripple immediately decided that it's a great spot for some serious modelling work and spent a lot of time striking all kinds of poses on it😊

Ripple was a hoarding victim - he came to us in a very sad state. Besides breathing like Darth Vader's asthmatic brother, he was also riddled with fleas, mites and who knows what else. But his personality was winsome and then some, and he managed to charm his way into a lovely forever home quite quickly!

Vicious was a very special kitten for us. To say that he was nervous would be a colossal understatement. He really needed a lot of patience and work to bring him out of his shell. But in the end he left us a great pet, mostly thanks to our Tiger, to be honest - he is very good at welcoming new kittens and helping them adjust to life with humans and other cats.

And here he is, taking a well-earned nap on the new cat stand.

So, once these three had given the stand their seal of approval, all the other cats seemed to be drawn to it in the kitten room. And here's a little gallery of a few of them:

Buster and Josh - talk about born pets! They together with their foster mate Fuzzy (who's too laid-back to climb anything😉) made a truly adorable trio. The way they entered the living room - they just took one quick look around and made it very nonchalantly yet decidedly straight to my partner's chair in the corner and lay down on his lap! To call them well-adjusted wouldn't do them justice, honestly. Falling in love with them happened almost instantaneously. To top it all off - they were adopted together!

These five siblings were named after places: Kobe, Douglas, Jordan, Petra and Sidney. They were a lovely bunch, nervous at first (especially Petra), but this is pretty standard with these creatures. And these guys really liked the stand, obviously😊 Which was just as well, as on it they gave me some of the best cat pictures I've ever taken.

See what I mean?

And this is Snowball. He's the loudest kitten we've ever met, and that's because he's deaf, which is sometimes the case with white cats. It's to do with genes - the autosomal dominant gene termed W (for white), to be exact. It's a gene with multiple effects, and it is responsible for white coat colour, blue eyes and deafness.

This doesn't mean that these cats can't have a normal life indoors, with a few things their humans have to adjust to - like stomping their feet when approaching the deaf cat, or tapping the surface near the sleeping cat so as not to startle it, etc. Snowball was also one of the friendliest kittens we'd ever seen - born to be loved.

Izzy - what a cat! A sweetheart, through and through. You know, one of these creatures you just look at and smile, because you can't believe how much joy she's brought into your life.

Posing is obviously this calendar girl's thing😉 Her forever family entered her in a photo competition, and she won! A deserving winner, if there ever was one.

Four cats have been born in our house. Poppy's babies. And out of those four, Lily was the first to climb all the way up to the cat stand. She was about 5 weeks then (she's way past that on this pic, of course;). Her ginger brother Gleeson followed shortly after and then there was no stopping any of them!

This picture of Lily and Gleeson is one of my favourite pictures ever. It's a picture of warmth and comfort, I think. Lots of 'Lean on me' vibes going on. If only all sibling relationships were like that!

This is Serena. She's demonstrating the cat stand's initial appeal for the kittens - a great place to hide behind. When they arrive in a new environment, they are scared (sometimes out of their wits:), and then the stand beckons for the first time. So, in the beginning they cower behind the leg of the stand, then, when they're already a bit more comfortable, they dare to go to sleep behind the leg. And only once they've realized that they are actually pretty safe with us, they conquer the top.

Recently we had six mostly white Bin Babies staying with us. I called them Bin Babies because they were found living by the bins near a campsite. What a bundle of fun they were! They were quite malnourished at the start, a couple of them had to be introduced to eating instead of 'meat nursing'. But once they got the hang of it, they took to fattening up with gusto😊

This is Forest, the biggest of the Bin Babies and the biggest fan of the cat stand. And the light shines through his clear and bright ears!

I think she likes it😉

Forest's sister Faye was definitely the best model for cat laughs. Probably should've called her Joy, because she was full of it!

So yes, it's seen quite a few kittens, this old thing. And it isn't even that old yet😊

All that's left now is a big thank you on behalf of all its feline fans!