“Fluffy is not my first cat, far from it!” Kensie, our medical director explains. “Jaimie Garver called to let me know about a primarily outdoor cat who had been bitten by a raccoon and needed to have its leg amputated.

“The couple who had been feeding the cat and had brought it in said that she was a female named Fluffy. And because Jaimie knows that I’m able to handle the more complicated fostering situations, I agreed to take Fluffy in for however long it took for her surgery and ultimate recovery.

“When she arrived, it was clear that she was in terrible pain and very frightened. I put her in a separate room, made her comfortable and began brushing and loving on her for as long as she would allow it. One day, while I was brushing her, I realized that Fluffy wasn’t a female at all but was, in fact, a neutered male! Oh, the laughs my husband and I had!

“I brought him to my vet hospital to get some pain medications for him and to set up an appointment for his amputation. I didn’t realize how much I’d fallen in love with him until I didn’t have him for the three days it took for him to have his leg removed and begin to recover. I missed him and his crazy antics! He had never once tried to leave although he had always been an outdoor cat. He knew that he was loved where he was — not to mention all the wet food!

“I wouldn’t say I chose Fluffy. Fluffy chose me. One day, after he’d had his leg removed and was moving around with more confidence, he jumped up on my bed (!) while I was lying down, and pressed his head hard against mine. We stayed like that, with him purring, of course, for a very long time. We do this now on a regular basis. He tries to do it whenever he can, even when I’m washing my hands. He insists on getting onto the counter and demanding love.

“Fluffy is still getting used to his siblings. I think he’s starting to understand that they’re not encroaching on his territory but simply living their own lives. He also gets jealous whenever my attention isn’t focused on him. But he LOVES kittens, and is the perfect ‘uncle’ whenever we foster some.

“He’s come such a long way from the injured and frightened kitty who first came into my life. He now follows me, eats with the other kitties and lies next to me whenever he can.
We’re so lucky to have him, and I’m truly honored to call Fluffy (Florence Rutabaga) mine!

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Furry Friends Fur-Ever Stories are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA. She lives with her adopted Maltese named Mini.

Furry Friends is a nonprofit cat adoption organization. Its mission is to help homeless, relinquished and abused cats by providing spaying and neutering, medical care, and foster shelter for as long as it takes to find their forever home. Copyright © 2013 – 2020 Furry Friends. All rights reserved. Website design and development by Christina Roberts.