Mona

Mona came to me on Sept. 14th, when she was just over 5 weeks old. Her mom lives at a cafe I frequent and am friends with the owner of. Mona's mom is an incredibly beautiful cat, with luxurious long thick silver fur. But because she was knocked up by an alley cat, we had no idea what the kittens would look like. Nevertheless, knowing I was in the market, Pi Oi promised one to me when Bodia became pregnant.

Unfortunately, Bodia became ill after giving birth. We're not sure if it was the illness or the antibiotics, but the kittens stopped nursing. This happened at about 4 1/2 weeks, and I was away, but my friend Fitz, who was also promised a kitten, was checking in on them regularly. Pi Oi seemed unconcerned, but on Sept. 12th 'Tiger' died. Fitz immediately collected 'Alfie', but since 'Simon' seemed okay for the moment, decided to leave him with his mom until I got back (Pi Oi told me it was a boy initially, so Mona was originally named Simon). When Fitz went to check on Mona the next day, however, she was unconscious. Fitz rushed her to the vet, who doctored her up. He said she would have died within the day if Fitz hadn't brought her. So, the next day when I returned from my trip, I was delivered an underweight, malnourished, dehydrated, blind kitten. (The lack of tail has nothing to do with her ordeal, but is rather a very common genetic trait amongst Thai cats). I carried her back and forth to work with me for a few days until she got stronger.

Mona thrived, and grew by leaps and bounds, and now I have a hugely energetic, romping, purring, loving kitty, who tries to be directly under my feet as much as possible. Everyone falls in love with her immediately, and she is welcome at (and regularly visits) all of my neighbors houses. I'm now trying to convince her to leave the spoils of her hunting in the yard, instead of bringing them into the house (geckos, frogs, and cockroaches).

I can't believe I've had her for three months without posting a picture. Its been a little hard to get a clear shot of something that is in constant motion... Here are a few from her first week with me, and yesterday.

Its hard to convey just how tiny she was when she first came, but that is a 1/4 c. measuring cup she is eating out of.

Her inner eyelids are still 1/2 shut here. They were completely closed when I got her, from severe dehydration.Eating kitten chow soaked in baby formula, delicious!

We lived in constant fear of stepping on our itty bitty kitty!
3 mo. later - so much bigger and healthier!
"Stop taking pictures and feed me!"