She Finally Grew into Her Ears

Exactly 365 days ago, a friend of mine called with a dilemma. She had rescued a kitten from a hoarding situation, but had nowhere to take it. My friend begged me to take the little black and white bundle that exuded both friendliness and fear.

Convinced that I would find a new home for her, I picked her up and took the tiny girl to the vet. Estimating that she was only 8 weeks old, the kitten was covered in fleas and dirt. Her most prominent feature — aside from the black goatee on her chin — was her enormous ears.

I took her home and situated the guest bedroom just for her.

In her own room, she could be safe from the other cats, who were none-too-pleased that they had a new sibling.

Even if she was cute …

Little did I know, she wasn’t too keen on the idea of being sequestered in her own room either. While she had toys around her, she wanted companionship.

Although, she wasn’t all that pleased with the idea of going to the vet …

Eventually, I realized that I was smitten with her and she was going to be part of my family — alien ears and all. I named her Colby and she became mine.

And Zoey’s …

And Cooper’s …

Somehow, she managed to break one of her hind legs, leaving her quarantined to a crate for six weeks as we waited for it to heal.

When she was finally sprung from the crate, she was ecstatic … and so was I.

As soon as she was free, she immediately found her best friend in the house again …

And the love was clear from both sides …

And she quickly came into her own in the house.

As of today, Colby has been in my life for exactly a year. She is — by all estimates — 14 months old. She spends her days playing with whatever toys she can find — whether cat toys, dog toys or just general household supplies — and her nights snuggling with me on my bed and happily purring in my ear.

Colby doesn’t have the confidence of Lilly or Gus or even Izzy. And she doesn’t have the I-don’t-give-a-crap attitude of Zoey. She is sweet and loving and playful and just happy to have a chance to make her way in a world that hadn’t been all that kind to her to begin with.

While I couldn’t imagine ever having five cats, now that she has been in my life for a year, I couldn’t imagine life without my dear Colby.

I just miss those huge alien ears …

Colby today, fascinated by a random “toy” (a measuring tape)

Isn’t she so big?

And curious …

Seriously … where did her alien ears go?

Colby with one of the toys from her first day in my home …

And the lobster, as well …

But her favorite toys now are in the form of a mouse.

She loves them so much that I had to stock up …