Friday, September 26, 2014

All of me loves all of you - The Cuddle Puddle

Sometimes...right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale.

I knew it would happen. I knew I would have tears streaming down my face as I wrote this post. I knew my heart would be heavy and happy at the same time. I knew this tale, like all fairy tales, would come to an end at least for my part.


It's hard to believe nine weeks have passed by so quickly. If you are new to my blog, you can go HERE to read the how this story began. I want to start off by thanking my dear friend, Captain, for all her love, friendship and emotional support. While I was busy caring for Sabrina and the Cuddle Puddle, Captain and our friend, Jennifer, managed to capture four of Sabrina's first litter from the abandoned house, as well as Papa cat. The kittens were spayed and neutered and are currently being socialized and prepared for adoption. Papa cat, whom she named Homer, was neutered and released as he is too feral to ever be happy as someone's pet. We keep our bunny ears crossed that these kittens find wonderful furever homes.  Thank you Captain for everything. I love you bunches!


What an adventure this was. I can tell you everything about a bunny, but have absolutely no experience with cats. They both have so many similarities and at the same time so many differences. But, both bunnies, cats and all animals for that matter, bring so much joy to this world.


It's amazing how this adorable little Cuddle Puddle grew so quickly in a few short weeks. I loved every single minute of watching them grow and explore. They were one day old in the photo above. Captain and I called them the "Lucky Litter."

These little buggers touched my heart in so many ways. If you like, listen to the music from John Legend and Lindsey Stirling as you enjoy the photos below.


Shamus de Barrington.

Sucking his thumb. ;)

Sleeping on ledges.


He was laid back, easy going and such a sweet boy. Yes, he has crossed eyes, but it doesn't stop him and doesn't seem to bother him one bit. In fact, we all think it adds to his personality.


I will get to see Shamus at least once a month because,


he went to live with my friend, Gerri here in New Bern. Yippee!


Zeva, the little girl of big adventures.


She did everything first except jump up on the whirlpool, which annoyed her that she wasn't first to do that. ;)


This little girl is so silly, loves to play


and isn't afraid of anything. She is a bundle of energy.


She made me laugh all the time.


Zeva went to live with my friends, Kim and Keith in Virginia Beach. She is now a companion to their cat, Alley. I think she will grow up to look the most like Sabrina.


D.K. aka, David's Kitty. Yes, this is the one David was smitten with.


D.K. was the happiest boy. He purred and purred


and purred all the time, just like his mama, Sabrina.


He was a true mama's boy as he was always around her (normally attacking her tail).



When he wasn't with Sabrina, he was with his sister, Tiggy Wiggins.


Such a sweet boy.


I'm grateful he and Tiggy Wiggins will always be together with my friend, Jen (on the left, Jen's mom on the right), in northern Virgina.



Miss Tiggy Wiggins. My little bitty bit.


All I can say is that I'm truly grateful Captain was with me on the ride to Virginia. It was so hard for me to say goodbye to Tiggy.


There was just something about her. She was the only one I named for a long time.


Sometimes you just have that connection.


Tiggy was a talker. I guess we had that in common. hee,hee,hee.


I will miss this little girl so much. 


Oh sooooooooooo very much.

I don't think I could have given her to anyone else but Jen. She loves Tiggy and D.K. very much and they have brought love and happiness to her life. Jen is a labor and delivery nurse and just the sweetest girl. She sends me photos all the time. Here the three of them are taking a nap.

Everyone asks me if it was hard to give them all away. It was. However; I am truly grateful they all went to people who are my friends. In fact, I find comfort in it. I don't know if I could have done it if the people were total strangers.


So what is to become of Sabrina?


The little girl who took a nap in David's sink and


later in the day had her 3rd litter of kittens in 10 months?


Well, I will be taking her to the vet to get her spayed in a few weeks.


Then, we will see if she can be sweet to the bunnies. Harrington and Hannah have to come first. After all, I am the crazy bunny lady. ;)


If she can be sweet to them, then she will have a furever home here in Bunnyville. I rather like that particular ending to this fairy tale. Don't you? :)


All of me loves All of you. Forever...

xx,
Michelle

32 comments:

Vroomans' Quilts said...

I cried too, but how wonderful of you to be their Angel and they all have loving homes.

Jeanette said...

Aww Shell. Sitting here with tears running down my face. Both sad & happy tears. Glad the fur babies all went to loving, happy homes. Hugs, xx

Christine M said...

This has certainly been an adventure Shell. I'm so glad you've been able to find wonderful homes for them all.

Donna Nowicki French said...

Sabrina will do great with the bunnies. Trust me. I've had both at the same time. She might even try to mother the bunnies.













Thoeria said...

Awwww......I know exactly how you must have felt having to say good-bye to your kitties ....it's a real mixed bag of emotions. But you're right, they are all in homes where they will be loved:)
I'm pretty sure that once Sabrina is socialised to the bunnies she'll do just fine! If dogs and cats can live in the same household, then certainly bunnies and a kitty can too :)

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

NOW I'M CRYING!

Shell, kindness toward animals and people, now that's a world I love to live in.

I was just made to feel like an idiot yesterday by someone at work. All I wanted to do was run away to a field of horses, dogs, bunnies, or to be in the presence of a friend. Neither were there for me, but now, I can at least walk into work knowing there is a rainbow, somewhere for me.

StitchinByTheLake said...

Love that you found perfect homes for all the babies - and surely Mama will know her place. :) blessings, marlene

Allie said...

Oh my gosh I cried my way through this post - I'm so glad they found such great homes and I'm hoping Sabrina gets along with the buns. I think she'll be just fine...big big hugs, my friend.

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

I cried too--am crying!! some is sadness that you had to part with them==some is tears of joy as I know that all have went to new loving homes--
Thank you again for all you have done for Sabrina and all her babies--
and thank you Captain for your help in the catching of even the daddy cat--how wonderful!
hugs, to all, di and miss gracie

Lesley said...

Such a sweet story of new beginnings for your little furry friends.hope Miss Sabrina fits into your household.

jerilanders said...

Oh Shell, this is all too wonderful for words... so I will shed a few tears as well... good tears! All the precious babies growing healthy and loved and going to good homes, it is just too, too good. I hope you DO keep Sabrina, she belongs to you now, she really does.

Kris said...

With tears in my eyes, I have pinned most of your pictures and I pray that Sabrina will love the bunnies as much as you do so she can stay with you all!! Thank you, Shell, for your loving heart!! ♥ Great music!!

Judy1522 said...

I am so glad all the kittens found good forever homes and am hoping it works out for Sabrina to live with you.

Fiona said...

It has been lovely watching these kitties grow ... I am sure they will miss you lots too...
Hugz

Sue said...

Lovely post and a lovely ending! Well done Mom Shell.....

Tina said...

I read your post yesterday but I just couldn't comment due to the tears in my eyes. Okay tears are there again today (I shouldn't have re-read the post!) but they are truly tears of joy for you and Sabrina and her kittens. Thank you so much for letting us know that Sabrina's other kittens were rescued as well and even the kitten's father!(Excellent job Captain!). I too would have had a terribly hard time giving the kittens up but how very lucky that they went to such wonderful homes and to people that you know (you can keep in touch with them ;o) I just know Sabrina is going to be a sweet girl to Hannah and Harrington and she is truly lucky to have you and David as her forever family (she sure has had a hard, terrible life and deserves a loving family and home - Bless you both!).
Sending you a GIANT HUG for your kindness and love for animals!!!!

Sparklyjools said...

This cynical ol' Brit has a tear in her eye and a big lump in her throat! Well, you already know what I think. You are a star twinkling in the firmament (and that there Captain is a bright sparkle too! Please tell her!) Happy kittens, happy friends - you did great! I think Miss Sabrina will learn bunny etiquette - and most likely that the bunnies are the ones in charge! We will both be rooting for her to fit in happily, but I think she'll realise she's landed on her paws at last! xxx

Unknown said...

Sending those beautiful babies out into the world to bring joy to their new families is a moment to be proud of. Bless you, David and Captain for being there for them and their brave mum. Fingers crossed and breath held that Sabrina and the bunnies embrace each other, bring a truly marvellous end/new beginning to this real life fairy tale.

KMSC said...

A big thank you to you, David, Captain and your other friends for all you have done for Sabrina and her kittens! This was a uplifting story and one I will read again and again! I hope you will be able to post about the kittens as they grow bigger.

In stitches and seams said...

what a touching fairy tale with a happy ever after too. They all have such personalities, I am sure they will love there new homes.
institchesandseams@hotmail.ca

JudyCinNC said...

How wonderful and easy it is for you and Captain to give love. You did everything for those precious bundles of joy. Happy am I to have you for my friend. Always fighting and always in the right corner for what you care so passionately about. Love you girl for being you. Judy C in NC

Createology said...

Oh how I have always loved kitties. Your Fairy Tale is truly a very happy one. You and Bunnyville have done a wonderful saving of Sabrina and her little brood. Creative Kitty Bliss...

Annette Tait said...

just beautiful, just perfect :) I LOVE dk!! haha, and I can see her lying beside the buns, happy xxx happy to be loved in a loving home

Ellie said...

Oh my! I just found your blog by way of craftsy & left a comment there abt your work & rabbits. We also have rescue buns & have had & fostered many over the years. We have a kitty named Daisy we adopted from the shelter as a baby and she loves our bunnies. She sometimes plays w/ them and plays chase w/ them. Our older bunny Leo (age 8) doesn't run from her, he actually chases her back. It's funny. Sometimes they all sniff butts, nibble on tails, and she's batted at them a few times but ALWAYS w/claws retracted. It took me a long time to be sure she was ok w/them. She even doesn't try to eat our hamster George & has climbed in his playpen w/him (this was totally supervised, we were ready to grab either of them), so maybe she's a special cat. We're concerned she might think she's a rabbit since she climbs into their potty & tries to eat their hay. :-) We just trained her that the bunnies were 1st tier in charge upstairs, they came first to they family so if she harassed them she had to stay downstairs, so she found it in her best interest to be nice. Leo & Daisy kitty both free roam upstairs, we divide the living room w/ a doggie X-pen b/c our 1 yr old bunny Baby has to be kept away from cords & gets supervised playtime ;-) In the House Rabbit Handbook they discuss bonding rabbits & cats and ours are very close, even Baby. So I hope Sabrina gets a forever home w/you. I would be so angry w/those neighbors!!! God Bless you for being such a wonderful & caring person to take them all in. We've done fostering of rabbits & guinea pigs that were very young & it was really tough to let them go, especially Momma Piggy. But it felt good knowing they were so much better off than were we had found them. I picked up mommy piggy& her 5 babies ina rat cage that had never been cleaned & had maggots in it. I handpicked owners like you did when they were old enough, but still cried when they left. You get a gold star for your awesome heart (and so does your husband!) Mine was unhappy we had a huge piggy pen setup under our loftbed w/baby piggies squealing during the night! I was grateful my husband was ok w/the time, money, and space investment into rescue and it sounds like your hubby is a great person like you.;-) Bless you!

Draffin Bears said...

Dear Shell,

Such a very sweet touching story of you caring for the sweet kitty family.
So glad that there are caring and beautiful people in the world like you dear friend, David and Captain.
Happy to hear that all the babies have found new homes and do hope that sweet Sabrina will fit in happily with your family and your gorgeous bunnies.
Take care dear friend and hope you are enjoying the weekend
hugs & blessings
Carolyn

Heather said...

Oh my, sobbing through this post. So happy the kittens found such lovely forever homes and hoping that Sabrina is able to stay with you. Such a loving ending.

Brandy said...

Oh yay! I hope she will get along with your bunnies as well for a happily ever after for all of you! Thank you for sharing the story of the Cuddle Puddle, I really enjoyed watching their progress and seeing such inspirational people as yourself and your friends.
~Brandy

tink's mom said...

Oh Shell, I have to stop reading your stories at work. People want to know why I'm sitting at my desk crying. They don't understand Happy Ending are sometimes tough.
Hoping with all my heart that Sabrina and bunns make a forever home possible.

Lana said...

Oh! I do I do! No one could love her like you...I am like you, so glad they went to friends...and for you, what gorgeous photos you have...those are all definite keepers.
I will pray Sabrina will be so happy there that she will not be mean to those sweet bunnies! I know my labs love my bunnies...they even lay on top of each other sometimes...
You know...I have learned so much from you...and let's just say, Thank you...you do know how to love..

Lana said...

P.S.
Love the haircut!!!!

Little Miss Titch said...

Yes Yes Yes!I knew it,It will work out with Sabrina,I just know it,You can teach her to be gentle with Hannah and Harrington,But I think she won't need much teaching.you are simply the best Michelle,xx Rachel and Speedy

Jillayne said...

Such a lovely story Shell - a beautiful story of love and caring - you and Captain make a great team!
Sabrina is a lovely cat, and I have my fingers crossed that all will work out perfectly!

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