http://www.felinefunny.com Salie’s Tale : Page 1 We never set out with the intention of owning cats, although we had both loved and owned cats as children. However, I had a stepfather who used to kick and abuse it physically. The poor little thing eventually died from its injuries. Then in later life my late mother owned loads of cats (due to non-neutering) which used to be allowed to roam all over the house, including food preparation surfaces. The stench, from the house, the cats and their food which used to be in every room was stomach churning. I think I put up with that nauseous stink for so long I just associated that any cat would be accompanied by constant mess and a horrendous smell. But many years on along came Salie.......... I’ll let her tell her own tale........... “Hello ! Thanks for coming to see me I'd like to tell you my story. Today is Wednesday 21st July 2004 and I'm in a very beautiful place I'll tell you more about this later on. First things first don't forget my name is Salie, pronounced "Say-Lee". Please don't call me Sally or Sadie as my name is unusual for a reason. I love my name. A lot of my story will make you smile but some bits may be a bit sad. But I don't want you to be sad when you read those bits. Instead I just want you to remember the funny bits and to laugh at some of my funny pictures. Then every time you need to smile come back and see me because all I want is to make people happy. OK let's begin and see how my life story goes.............. I'll start my story with everything I know that happened before October 2002. I was born in............ errr... that's not a good start I don't actually know so I don't know how old I am. Actually there is quite a lot I don't know about myself. I don't know if I have any brothers or sisters. I don't know where my real parents are. I don't know if I've been a good or bad cat in the past although I've always tried to be good. I can't even remember what food I've eaten before. I remember that I had an operation once to stop me having kittens but I can't remember if I had babies before that operation. The first thing I can remember is that I know the humans who I used to think loved me moved away and left me behind late in September 2002. The weather was horrible and one thing I do know about myself is that I don't like rain, I don't like wind and I don't like storms. I live in Hastings which is in the county of East Sussex in England. I like it here - when the weather is nice it's lovely but when it's bad it's really horrible. I didn't like it when my owners left me alone. It was really horrible weather and I found anywhere I could to get some shelter. I tried sleeping under bushes but they were not very good at keeping the rain off me and it made my fur horrible. I'm a very clean cat normally but I could not clean myself any more because my fur became all knotted and dirty. I was so sad and I was so hungry. I just could not find any food. I chewed on some grass and tried hunting through some rubbish bags. I found a few scraps but it was barely enough to feed a mouse let alone me. Because my fur was so dirty I got itchy scabs all over my back. But I couldn't scratch them because I was so tired because of the lack of food. I don't know what happened to my mouth but my tongue was hanging out all the time and I kept dribbling. Finally I got fleas and I HATE FLEAS. I had hundreds - no thousands of them all over my body. They are bad enough when you are healthy but when you haven't got the energy to scratch the horrible little things it's no fun at all. I was on the streets scavenging for food for ages. I can't remember exactly how long. What I can remember was that I really thought I was going to die. I had no energy left and I kept sitting in places where humans would see me but everybody just walked past me. Nobody even stroked me because I was covered in fleas and really dirty. I wondered what I had done to deserve this? Why do humans have pets and then do this to them? It's just not fair and it's so cruel. I went to so many houses wanting somebody to see me but nobody did. Finally in early October 2002 I stopped in a pretty garden with lots of flowers and bushes. The bushes were big enough to keep some of the rain off and there was lots of room for me under them. I thought that if I was going to die at least it's a pretty place. I couldn't smell any other cats here either so I officially claimed it as my garden! I slept there the night praying that a fox wouldn't get me as I didn't have the energy to run. There was something special about this garden because when the man and lady who lived there came out they talked to me and smiled. From what they were saying they thought I must have a home and they couldn't see how dirty I was because I stayed under a bush. I was very scared of going out from the security of "my bush" because humans had not been very nice to me - I didn't trust them. I stayed under my bush for another day but I was so very hungry. I realised that if these people who smiled at me were going to help I had to come out and show them the mess I was in. So the following morning I just sat there as upright as I could hoping they would see me. They did ! The man said "It must be a stray have we got some food for it?". At last FOOD I love that word FOOD, FOOD, FOOD sorry but it's my favourite word I just have to tell you that. I wondered what I would get to eat. I thought I might get cat food but then I remembered I smelt no cat in the garden, so I waited. The lady came out with a plate of food and put it down but I was far too scared to go and get it. But she was nice and threw me bits. HAM ! I love ham and boy this was no cheap ham. "I could get a taste for this !" I thought as the rest of the pieces of ham were thrown to me. I ate the lot in double-quick time. Then the people went out in their car. When they came back I thought they would just go inside and leave me. But they came back with more food - a whole tin of top quality cat food - I ate that as well. They brought out another tin I couldn't believe how nice these people were. At last my belly had food in it. They tried to encourage me indoors but I was still nervous. I heard them inside phoning the RSPCA but fortunately for me it appears they were too inundated with stray cats to come for me - besides I liked the food and service here ! The next day they fed me as well and went out and came back with bags of stuff. If I was to trust these people I had to make the first move. Besides the weather outside was getting worse. I started eating off a saucer near (but not too near) to their door to get a peek inside - looked cosy ! I decided I was going to call these people "Mummy and Daddy" from now on as they were the only people to be nice to me. They started calling me "Salem" they said after the cheeky black cat on Sabrina The Teenage Witch - I wanted to shout at them "But hey guys I'm a girly ! Hello I don't have the right equipment to be a boy cat! ". Sadly though I didn't learn human as my second language, I have a degree in cuteness instead, so I had to stick with Salem for now much to my disgust. But I was determined I must get a proper girly name as soon as possible - SALEM INDEED ! As I still wasn't ready to come in daddy made a "Cat Kennel" made out of a waterproofed box with bedding - it was much more cosy than my bush but I knew I couldn't sleep there in the winter. The next day I let them get a bit closer to me and whilst eating (did I mention FOOD is my favourite word?) they dripped something revolting onto the back of my neck. "Crikey this stinks !", I thought but food must come first and I finished my meal. For the rest of that day I wondered what the smelly stuff did and then I found out all my fleas started dying - hooray! Things in my life were getting better! Over the next couple of weeks dad and mum got very sneaky. First my food was put closer and closer to the front door. Then one day I couldn't have it unless I got it from inside - the saucer was on the indoor doormat. Decisions, decisions FOOD or OUTSIDE? FOOD or OUTSIDE? FOOD or ............. oh blow this! FOOD MATE! I made a quick dash to the inside doormat. I ate all the food in about 10 seconds flat then did a runner outside again. "You don't catch me that easy", I thought to myself. Things got a little more difficult the next day when they took to bribery PRAWNS - not little prawns but great big fat juicy ones - oh that lovely smell! But did they put them just inside the door? No! The little rascals placed them in a line about one foot apart leading from the front door all the way up the hallway. I just had to brave it. Slowly I edged my way up the hallway taking one prawn at a time (by the way, in case you'd forgotten I love FOOD). I thought mum and dad may shut me in but they didn't frighten me by doing this so I went back out. They said I was a good boy and gave me another line of prawns to follow but going a bit further. Ok these people had devious ways of getting me indoors but hey. Food is my hobby! Besides I wanted to give them a piece of my mind for keep calling me a boy! They still didn't force me to stay in as I was still frightened, but I did like the warmth indoors. Winter was approaching and I had to pass a warm radiator on the way past the prawns. I liked this place it was cosy! I ate indoors for the next few days staying in the garden for the rest of the day and sleeping outside at night in my waterproof box. My box was nice but not as warm as indoors and I know mum and dad wanted me to stay in but I was frightened. I was also still very dirty and still unable to clean myself. I heard mum and dad speak to the RSPCA people again because they were worried about me but the man told them I would be quite ok outside - but they weren't convinced and neither was I ! One day mum bought some food out to me and I let her stroke me quickly on the back of my neck. "These people are nice" I thought. Then things changed for me I went indoors for my food and found myself a long way from the front door and it CLOSED! I was frightened when dad tried to pick me up and I tried to hide. But he got me and I thought he was going to hit me but he didn't he................. put me in a cosy cardboard box with towels and held me there and stroked me. "Perhaps I have a home at last", I thought. I still wanted to go out at night for the first few days but slept in my box a lot in the daytime. I didn't have fleas any more but my fur was all matted still and I was so dirty. For the next couple of weeks mum and dad really started to clean me up but as you can see from these pictures their job was not an easy one. I think I really looked quite ugly but mum and dad were so nice to me. I also slept a lot. After being on the streets for so many weeks I was really exhausted. I didn't tell you did I that after food sleeping is my second favourite hobby? I was very lucky because I was given my own big cushion to sleep on too. As you can see from the picture the cushion was big enough to let me stretch out and really rest from what has happened to me in the previous weeks. When I wanted to go to the toilet I went outside. My previous owners had taught me to do that and I didn't want to let these new owners down. I did have some little accidents because of nerves but I tried very hard not to. Cleaning me was a big task. I had two different combs to try and get all the knots out of my fur. Dad was cheeky and called the lumps of fur "skank" and sometimes called me Skanky - thank goodness that didn't become my permanent name! I was still being called Salem. "Hey guys I'm a little girl - is anybody listening?" I thought. Actually it's about time I told you how my real name came about. As dad was continuing my major clean up he noticed that I didn't have the same parts that little boys have. At last they knew I was a girl. They knew they couldn't call me Salem anymore and thankfully Skanky had slipped their minds so that's how I became Salie! I am not aware of any other cat called Salie in the world. Please sign the guestbook if you have a cat called Salie or Salem I'd love to hear from you! For the next couple of months to the end of 2004 mum and dad gave up their bed and slept on the floor with me in the lounge. I was still very timid and wanted company all the time. Sometimes I would go to the door not because I wanted to go out but because I wanted to be sure I was free to come and go as I pleased. Mum and Dad haven't got any children and they didn't have any pets either. Whilst they loved me to bits they were worried about having to leave me alone when they went out so they contacted a local RSPCA re-homing centre to see if they could find me a home. With all the other local cats homes full this was the only place left to try. The centre wasn't very nice at all to mum and dad when they took me there. They made it quite clear that they suspected them of abusing me when all along it was them that had rescued me from near death. But they did leave me with the RSPCA centre who assured them they would put me in an area where I would have company. When mum and dad left I was stuck in a sterile white area with no other pets to even look at. I didn't like the humans there and refused to take food. I didn't even have any grassy area to go on. I hated it. But I wasn't the only one hating it. At home my mum was crying because she already missed me and both mum and dad were very angry at the way they had been treated by the re-housing centre. The next morning my mum and dad phoned up to see how I was and the centre told them I was very withdrawn and they were worried. They asked if they could take me back home. They came to see me and were upset to see I was almost as sad and withdrawn as I was when they first found me in their garden. The RSPCA people said their local vet was visiting the next day and that more than likely I would be put down because of my tongue hanging out and some blood in my wee. Fortunately mum and dad didn't like the treatment I was getting. They also didn't like the treatment the RSPCA had given them. Mum and dad asked if they could take me home again. Fortunately for a second time they saved my life and took me home, but not before they technically had to readopt their own cat from the RSPCA. I heard mum and dad discussing how disgusted they were with the RSPCA for the treatment we all received. I guess this experience isn't common to all people who use the RSPCA but in this instance it wasn't nice. In the next few weeks I got the rest of my clean up. Dad scratched away at all the scabs which had formed all over my body in the time I had no home. Gradually my skin became nice again. My coat began to get back its shine and all those nasty big clumps of fur came out. I also started cleaning myself again something I hadn't done in months. I had a big wash in the bath. I then decided that if food was the best thing in the world then baths must be the worst. How could they make me look so undignified? I ended up looking like a soggy hamster ! I went to see a nice vet called Graeme. He said the blood in my wee was nothing serious and a dose of antibiotics should clear up a "ladies problem". He also said I really needed my teeth cleaned and a couple removed by having a dental. Mind you I did wonder why these vets have to stick cold thermometers in a rather personal place. Do humans have to endure that? I bet not! Oh I didn't tell you I only had a couple of teeth did I? I had to mainly suck my food to bits. Luckily mum cut my food up small. The bad teeth were causing bad breath and the dribbling. My tongue would still hang out after the dental but I didn't care After all it had never stopped me eating like a horse and my mum and dad thought my sticking-out-tongue added to my character - hey a cool cat ! The dental worked a treat, I had lovely breath and even with some teeth removed I still had errrrrrr..... two left. Never mind I found I could still pull out old clumps of fur with my two small fangs! Oh and believe me even if I had no teeth at that stage I would still have found a way to eat. As for my dribbling that stopped completely and mum and dad stopped chasing me around the house with pieces of kitchen roll. By mid 2003 I was real pretty cat, back to how I used to look before I got thrown out. My fur was glowing, my scabs were gone, my toilet needs were back to normal and I was a good girl cleaning myself from head to claw. The next 12 months to mid 2004 were brilliant the best year of my life. Mum and dad found out just how cute I could be. I had more places to relax in the house than they did. I had a special seat on a radiator when it was cold, at least three different cupboards I slept in, a cat bed which mum and dad called "Salie's pod" and two big comfy cushions too. After all with my second favourite hobby being sleeping a girl has to have lots of choice as to where to relax doesn't she? I was very spoilt both in love and in food. Mum and dad told me because of the rotten life I'd had before meeting them the least they could do is spoil me rotten for the rest of my life. I certainly wasn't complaining! I wasn't even left alone for one night. A couple of times dad and mum had to go somewhere they drove 500 miles in a day just to make sure they were back with me the same night rather than staying in a hotel overnight.   Made with Xara Web Designer