Miss Maddie [redux]

Betsy says: Miss Maddie was rescued -- along with her sister Miss Audrey Fuzzburn and three other siblings -- in late September by a local Richmond, VA, volunteer group. Originally, Miss Maddie was called Miss Maddie Messybutt, and for good reason! Almost from birth, these kittens had no choice but to fend for themselves on the street in order to survive. Personal grooming was the last thing on their little minds; hunting for food took priority over everything else. Eventually after they'd been in our care for about a week, they started taking better care of themselves as instinct took over. We were finally able to drop the Messybutt surname at that point. :-) Miss Maddie and Audrey got along great, often watching out for each other when danger was imminent. The photos of the two of them were taken while my husband was running the Shop-Vac. They were both absolutely terrified, but they stuck together in semi-hiding! Based on their timid personalities, we believed that Miss Maddie and Miss Audrey were the youngest of the litter. Maddie was the clear cuddlebum of the group early on and responded almost immediately to our touch with loud purring, long before the others even learned how. As she grew older, she often had a wistful look in her eyes, as if she were daydreaming about her next meal, or catnap, or playtime with her siblings. She was adopted in October along with one of her other siblings. We were pleased to see them be able to remain together, to keep each other company. Their new owners have both a resident cat and a large mixed-breed shepherd dog, but at last report everyone was coexisting peacefully.