The first time I saw Munchkin was at the home of my
husband’s aunt. She was known as the cat
lady. Not that she collected cats, but
she had great compassion for stray animals and people.
Munchkin was a baby of one of those stray cats, she fed. He was very small, with a cute little moon
face, with big eyes. He would sit and
watch me prune bushes and rake. I would
talk to him as I would talk to any person.
He never talked, just watched. He was fine with me talking to him, as long
as I did not get too close.
My husband’s aunt was feeding 23 or more cats and
kittens. Her house sat on pier and
beams. The cats lived under the house and all around the house. Now this was a woman on a fixed income of
$900.00 a month. She was 86 years
old. She faithfully fed these cats each
morning and evening, without fail.
Sadly, these cats and kittens all had an upper respiratory
infection, (a form of herpes) which caused a green nasal discharge, mucky,
runny eyes and sneezing. In the three
days we stayed to clean his aunt’s lawn and winterize her home, I noticed
changes in Munchkin. By the last day,
Munchkin’s eyes were a mess. One was completely matted closed and the other eye
was matted with just a slit to see out of. It would not be long before both eyes were
matted shut.
My husband’s aunt asked us to catch as many of the kittens
as we could. She wanted us to find them
good homes to give them a chance at life.
We were able to catch three kittens.
Munchkin was one of them. We
waited until feeding time. Munchkin was
not one to miss a meal. The older cats
chased the kittens away from the food dishes. The kittens got what was left, if
anything at all. Since we were standing
around, the older cats stayed away. Munchkin had his face in the dish eating
when he saw us coming toward him. He was torn between eating and fleeing. He kept looking at us and eating as fast as
he could with one foot ready to flee. We
got him before he could flee. Now his sister Grumpy will skip the meal if meant
not being caught. She nearly got away
from us.
What his aunt did not know was how sick these kittens were. I believe they were roughly 5 weeks old. We were not sure if Munchkin would survive the
6 hour drive home. He did. We were not
sure the Vet could do anything for him.
The Vet could and did. We put the
three kittens in isolation. We did not want this virus getting our four other
cats. Munchkin and his sister Grumpy
recovered from the virus after three weeks of administering medicine twice a day. I knew I could catch Munchkin if I
administered the medicine at meal time; Worked every time. He just refused to
miss a meal. When you picked him up he would wrap his paws around your
arm. Not sure if he thought he could
restrain you. But each time you pick him up; he would wrap his paws around your
arm. The third kitten, Sneezy’s recovery took over two months.
Out on the deck of our last home. He is six months old.
To this day, when the seasons change Munchkin’s right eye,
the eye that was matted shut, would get mucky and runny for a few days, that was
the only reminder we had of the virus. He also did not completely trust me being
around while he ate. He would wait until I was not in sight to eat. I could not blame him.
When we brought him home, he weighed 1lb 2oz and could sit
in the palm of your hand. He was sweet
with the moon face that was half black and white, with those big eyes. He was feral. He became as domesticated as possible. He never totally let go of his feral
guardedness.
His tail finally decided to be all black.
It took a great deal of time for him to realize we were not
the enemy. Especially since he spent the
first few weeks in isolation getting medicine shoved down his throat! He would only come for love and affection on
his terms. He selected the time and
place that he would come to you for love.
He would jump up on the bed, with Vinny, Oreo and Scamp, after
I settled under the sheets for the night.
In the last few years this became our nightly routine. He would ask you once to pet him. If I stopped before he had enough attention,
he would ask again. In the morning if I
stirred enough that he thought I was awake, he would cautiously put his face in
my face asking for attention. At night, I
would pet him, especially his belly, that was his favorite, he finally laid
down next to me. Just as he was about to
completely relax and fall asleep, he would jump up and run off. He never changed that habit. He did add to the habit. He learned this trick from Oreo and took it
to a whole new level. If I did not
respond, to his demands, he would take his paw with one tiny sharp claw
extended, tapping me on the arm, no response, move up to the shoulder, still no
response, then gently on the cheek to
get my attention. It always worked. His cute little moon face and antics always
made me laugh. Munchie was such a sweet
boy, with a sweet temperament.
In our last home, Munchie and Sneezy would run as fast as
they could chasing each other down the hall and shoot through the cat door to
the deck. They would play and shoot back through the cat door and back down the
hall. He was full of energy and play. He only talked when it was important to him.
He became buddies with Vinny, Oreo and scamp, the older boy cats. I called Vinny, Oreo and Scamp the three
amigos. Those boys would strut down the
hall side by side with tails straight up in the air. It was quite a sight. Munchkin joined them. They became the four amigos. It was always funny watching the four them
strut down the hall side by side, with their tails straight up in the air,
giving you the brown eye. I never caught it on camera. After Scamp’s
death, it was the three amigos again, Vinny, Oreo and Munchkin.
As Munchie aged, he mellowed more toward us. He began to spend time with us, but still a
bit on alert, just in case. He kept that
feral part of him. In the beginning,
when we moved to Texas,
he would sleep on the end of our bed. When he heard us approach, he would open
one eye watching our every move. I think
the time spent with the three amigos taught him to trust us. He got away from sleeping with one eye open
when we were around.
He was extremely loyal to Vinny, (Mr. Mom), scamp and Oreo
(the adopted big brothers). He took over
as the iron claw after Pebble’s death.
He kept the young cats in line. He
taught them what was and was not acceptable. He was the big brother to them.
He was always first to the kitchen for breakfast and dinner. He would hang around talking to me while I
got his meal ready, at a safe distance of course. I think he was saying, ‘can you hurry it up,
I am starving here!’
Monday evening, Munchie did not show up for dinner. I did not think much about it. Later that evening, Munchkin did something I
hoped would happen one day. He came up on the bed, where I was reading, came
over to me and laid down next to me like this was an every day occurrence. I was surprised and touched by it. I talked with him and petted him while
reading. After a bit he left. In reflection, I realize this was his way of
saying good bye to me. He knew he was
dying. Cats are very smart. They know
when their time comes to die. They do not fight death. They surrender to death.
Tuesday, he did not come to the kitchen for breakfast. He
was under our bed. I brought him out and
set him on the bed and talked and petted him.
He went back under the bed immediately. He did not come out for dinner. He
stopped eating. I knew something was
very wrong. Munchie did not come up on
the bed that night for his nightly scratch.
I took him to Dr. Stefani, Wednesday morning. He had lost 2lbs. We left him at the clinic for a complete diagnostic work up and to see if they could
do something to help him.
Dr. Stefani called and told us the bad news. He was diagnosed with FIP
(Feline Infectious Peritonitis). This is
fatal. He had the wet version, meaning
his tummy and lungs fill up fast with fluids.
The fluids were filling faster than Dr. Stefani could eliminate. This disease
is fast in its destruction. There is no treatment or cure. There is no effective vaccine or test for
this disease.
We knew we
needed to let him go, as his condition was worsening by the hour. We returned to the Vet’s clinic to say
goodbye to a dear, sweet friend. While
petting him and letting the tears flow, Munchie saw a cat in one of the cages. Munchie did not have the strength to stand up,
but he laid there with the tip of his tail seriously tapping. The tip of his
tail was bent. Something happened to it before we got him. He wanted to check
out the cat and, if need be, put it in its proper place. He put one last smile on my face by these
actions. We held him as he left this
mortal plain, on June 27, 2012.
Munchkin made me laugh and touched my heart
with his courage and sweetness. He was
loved. I miss him dearly. We laid him to
rest next to Pebbles.
Munchkin (Munchie) was 9 years 10 months old. I am thankful we gave him a good home and a
chance at life. He taught us much and
enriched our lives. I miss my amigo.
Munchkin and Scamp, December 2002. Both Amigos are gone now.
Good night sweet Munchkin
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