Charlie

 

If there ever actually was something in this world that was meant to be, then supercalifragilisticexpialidocious was meant to describe Charlie. That's him in a suitably awesome nutshell. On top of that, he is also one of the most chilled-out fellas I've ever met. He's the kind of cat you can pick up as he sleeps on his left side, place him down on his right, and he'll just go straight back to sleep as if nothing happened. A total Zen master😉

His beginnings were not quite so chill, however. A couple of years ago on the eve of my birthday, as my partner was driving home from work, he noticed a white blob by the side of the road. He stopped the car and was horrified to see a small kitten with his right front leg hanging loosely off the hinge and his eyes glued shut with some kind of pus. So, this helpless creature had been forced to fend for himself in the wet and cold October weather, blinded by the flu and limping on three legs. There was not a dry eye in our house that night, I can tell you.

Charlie all cleaned-up and bandaged (photo credit: our friendly neighbourhood vet nurse)

A long story short - we got him on the mend, with the help of the charity and our friendly neighbourhood vet nurse. His flu had been quite severe (and probably not just a single event, but a few bouts of it), and he spent his first year with us on and off antibiotics and eye drops.

Yes, you've guessed it - we adopted Charlie. He's a member of our family now. And we keep joking that the best birthday present I ever got was a half-dead cat😊

Not only is Charlie part of our family now, he's also a kitten fosterer extraordinaire! And this post here takes a  little look at his career as a kitten whisperer.

But before he became the kitten minder, he put a spell on our first cat Vader. Vader had been an only cat, a single survivor of his litter, and therefore not used to any feline company at all. So the smell of kittens in the house was really getting on his nerves, to put it mildly. His initial reaction to any foster kittens always reminded me of Shrek yelling at the villagers, with his hairs standing up and a million tiny breakfast leftovers shooting out of his mouth in a million directions:)

So, enter Charlie. Yes, Charlie taught Vader the joys of having a feline buddy around. No, it didn't happen overnight, it took a while. Vader kept hissing at Charlie for a good year, I'd say. But look at them now:

Charlie's first foster kitten was Harry the Ginger Nut.

Harry was a real cutie, and a great buddy for Charlie, who put him through his paces - in every way imaginable. Of course, Harry was a great play pal to have, as at the time Vader wasn't yet a fan of the newfangled feline camaraderie thing - he was set in his ways and that's how he liked it. But Harry was up for anything: Hide and seek? Sure, why not! Mischief in the bathroom? Well, of course! Chase each other till we drop? You had me at chase! In other words, Harry showed Charlie that the kitten room area can be a veritable treasure trove of fun-loving playmates. And Charlie was hooked.

Here's a little clip of Charlie and Harry in action:

Charlie's next big foster job were little black brothers Orlando and Bloom. They were a really fun couple of kittens. I honestly can't remember much else about them besides all the fun we had. And Charlie was working hard at babysitting them. What he seemed to like the most was scaring the bejesus out of them: he would hide around a corner, patiently waiting for one of them to walk towards him without a care in the world, and then stand up on his hind legs, with the front paws stretched out ahead in the classic I'm-so-scary look. Basically, he was doing his Godzilla impression. And you can imagine how hilarious that was, especially when you add the fright-induced jumps the unsuspecting kittens performed in response.

Orlando and Bloom were joined by Tabs, our special girl kitten, who was on cage rest, but highly entertained by Charlie and the boys. Tabs stayed with us for five months and formed a rather special bond with Charlie. To her, Charlie was pretty much everything - a source of joy, companionship, comfort, and heaps of amusement. He would often lie down next to her cage and play with her through the bars, sometimes teasing her from the top, making her jump up and try to reach him. He really seemed to want her to have fun - so he often let her play with toys and his tail through the cage.

I have mentioned before that Tabs was quite a vocalist, and after she had left us, one evening I was sitting down in the kitchen flicking through pictures and videos of her time with us, and as soon as I played a video of her meowing, Charlie darted into the kitchen to see where she was. That was heartbreaking. He really missed that little bestie of his. But eventually Charlie had to learn to accept that in fostering every hello comes with a goodbye. And both are equally important.

Charlie's next best buddy and protégé arrived when we had one of the most gorgeous litters ever staying with us - Elle, Zoolander and Obi. Elle and Zoolander were the names I gave them, I can't remember their official names. Zoolander got his name because he behaved like a true male model - as soon as the camera was out, he was striking poses, he's the one in the middle in this pic:

Elle and Zoolander got snapped up in the blink of an eye, but Obi (shorthair and white - not a favourite combination for many people) was left behind. So, enter Charlie. For Obi, Charlie became a big brother and a father figure in one. Of course, they looked like they could be of the same stock - both being white with a few black spots dotted around the body. But Obi also had the cutest freckles on his nostrils (one each), so he looked a little bit like a little piggy.

For his stay with us, Obi rarely left Charlie's side, it seemed that they did everything together. Actually, come to think of it, initially all three siblings used to follow Charlie around in single file wherever he went, so in a way, I guess, Obi just carried on his family tradition😉

For almost two years Charlie refrained from going outside (not surprising, I guess, considering his kittenhood experience). However, shortly after Obi had gone to his forever home, Charlie started showing interest in the outdoors, little by little. Maybe his stint as Obi's big brother and protector had emboldened him to consider joining Vader on his escapades in the big bad world, who knows. Now Charlie is one of the most ferocious hunters around - I'd say he snacks on mice and rats pretty much daily.

(Oh, one little aside on Obi - when he was being collected to go home, the carrier his adopters had brought wasn't cooperating, so we gave them our old one. This means that little Obi left in a carrier formerly used by Vader😉)

As Charlie started spending time outdoors, he inevitably had less time to spare for the kittens. So, enter Tiger😊 Yes, Tiger gladly took the baton from Charlie and is now our new amazing chief kitten fosterer. But now and again Charlie steps in to give him a few helpful tips on tender fighting techniques and gentle dismissals of the disorderly little ones.

Tiger with CJ, one of his biggest foster projects and best buddies