Think carefully before you answer this one.
At your twenty-year high school reunion, do you want to be immediately recognizable?
Before you answer too swiftly, I present you a cautionary tale from Feta and Bleu.
Maybe you burst out a “yes” thinking that “immediately recognizable” = “fabulously ageless.” Think again. Everybody ages (and that’s a good thing).
No, actually the only thing that makes someone instantly recognizable, even after the passage of many years, is the kind of funky feature you can’t miss.
Think about it. The guy with the Big Giant Head in 7th grade will still have a Big Giant Head when he’s 47. You will recognize him all at once. “Lothar! I’d know that oversized cranium anywhere!”
This is not limited to our species. The cat with the Exceedingly Sad Eyes as a kitten will still have Exceedingly Sad Eyes when he’s 2. You will recognize him all at once. No, really, you will:
The cat named Bleu has peepers that sing the blues – and it’s not just because he’s named for moldy cheese. Bleu was first at Tabby’s Place as a tiny little crumble off the old block (Gorgonzola is his ma). As babies usually are, he was adopted in a flash, together with sister Feta.
Fast forward two years and 35 pounds, and you’ve got the saddest fromage in New Jersey. Now morbidly obese, Bleu and Feta were returned to Tabby’s Place for reasons we don’t entirely understand. Now weighing in at 20 and 15 pounds, respectively, and understandably leery of all humankind, Bleu and Feta were clearly feeling a little old and moldy. Unwanted. Unlovely.
And very far from the irresistible kittens they’d once been.
But not so fast. Their faces tell the deeper story. Sad eyes and all, Feta and Bleu are not one shred less shimmering than they were as kittens. They may not be baby Bonbels anymore, but anything worth loving becomes dearer the longer it’s loved. That goes for Bleu and Feta and you and me and anyone who’s ever felt older than they’ve ever been.
This much hasn’t changed, won’t change, can’t change as long as God is in His heaven: Bleu and Feta are loved.
And, as they settle back into Tabby’s Place, they’re learning that love can be trusted again, even after things crumbled in their first adoption.
Sad eyes may be a mere facial feature, but sad souls are on the mend. These cheeses will, most assuredly, melt the right forever hearts in due time.
Oh how sad!!!! I don’t understand when people do these things, however I am glad they returned the cats to the safety of Tabby’s Place!!! Judging by their sizes, they were well taken care of! I can’t wait to re-meet them and mush them! 🙂 Are they in a Suite yet?
Nope, still in Quarantine. But, they would love to re-meet and re-mush you too, Nik. 🙂
Housekeeping note: I am going to be better about responding to all of you guys’ all-too-kind comments. In case y’all didn’t know, I loves you. But writers are a funny bunch, and we tend to be shy (sorta – as in, “read my stuff! love it! now let me hide!”), so I’ll blush and bumble along as I do. 😉
I agree with Nik! I can’t wait to glom on these guys…look how beautifully they grew — and they finally grew into their ears, too! (hee hee)
Wait ’til you see/squoosh them in person. Photos cannot do justice.
It is unfortunate that they were returned, but as I have seen at the shelter where I volunteer, kittens are always adopted quite readily, but people need to realize that a kitten is only the first stage of becoming a cat, which will be a change. It is definately our intention to adopt an older cat when we have a place for one as they still have a little kitten in them and also many years of love and affection left in them.
Wise words, CCL. And, I can confirm that these two most definitely have a great big dollop of kittenhood still dancing around the edges of their personalities.