Happy 10th Gotcha Day Kozmo

 

It was cold outside the day that Hissy Old Licorice went over the bridge. He was 17 years old. He had some kidney issues and was on Sub-Q fluids for over a year. The day before he got extremely pale and would not eat. We called the vet, but could not get him in until the next day. I made an appointment for 11am. I woke up at 5:30 with Nellie howling. She was licking Licorice on the foot of the bed and he was not moving. He had passed away, peacefully, in his sleep. We put Licorice in his travelling basket, dug a hole in the frozen garden and buried him. 

There was a hole in our lives. Licorice was a happy outgoing cat. He played with the dogs, he cuddled with Nellie and snuggled with me. He even played with the neighbor dogs! Nellie was despondent and would not eat. 

A month later, we drove up to Kelowna to finish off shopping for Christmas. We were in PetSmart to pick up dog and cat food (and toys). When I was getting the cat food, I noticed there were about 15 cats in the for adoption center. One was a precious little tuxi and I was immediately captivated. I dragged Dave over and we looked at him (and a couple of other kittens). 

We went and did the rest of our shopping. While we were picking up groceries, that kitten kept coming up in our conversations and on our way out of town, we stopped back at PetSmart and asked about adopting him. We were told we could fill out all the paperwork but could NOT take him home until the next day. They had a 24 hour waiting period. 

The next day was December 23, we got up at 5:30 am and headed up the road to Kelowna. When we got to PetSmart, the kitten was not there! After calling, they found out one of the volunteers had taken him back to the shelter. We had to drive there to pick him up. 

We got his story. Kozmo and 4 litter mates were found in a plastic bag tied to a pet store door. They were about 1 month old, eyes still closed, they had scrapes and abrasions and one kitten had already died.  They had fleas, worms and were not expected to survive. Kozmo and 3 of his litter mates survived and thrived. There were 2 black and white and 2 gray and white. 

3 of them had been adopted about a month previous, but Kozmo had not responded very well at the pet store, hiding from people when they wanted to see him. As a mater of fact, when he bounced across the floor to chew on my shoelaces the lady who ran the shelter was astonished! I was positive Kozmo had been waiting for us to come and get him. 

2 hours later, we had a 3 month old cat named Bruce and were on our way home. We did not want to call him Bruce and by the time we got home, his name was Kozmo. 

Kozmo fit in well. He was the same size as Nellie (who would barely tolerate him) and the dogs, Bob and Sam thought he was terrific! I did too. He quickly became an integral part of our lives and Nellie's Blog. 

Today we are celebrating Kozmo's 10th Gotcha Day! He will have his favorite, whipped cream and bacon!

 

Below are some photos of Kozmo and his exploits!

 

 

Kozmo's 1st Christmas

 

 

Kozmo & Nellie (and the hairy Slobbery sister Bob)

Koz (7 months)  and Cinnamon (10 Weeks)

 

Koz partied out after 1st Birthday

The Birthday party guests

 

We are thankful Kozmo is part of our lives. He is a terrific and compassionate cat (unless you are a mouse!).

We are also thankful for you or fuurrends! Thank you for letting us share Kozmo and his life with us for the last 10 years! We are pawticipating in the Thankful Thursday Blog hop at Brian's Home!