July 24, 2009
M-O-O-N that spells ... says: I wasn’t looking for a kitten. I had lost my beautiful black-and-white cat Blackie three weeks earlier and I had this terrible hole in my heart. When we saw the kittens from a distance they were all black and white. I did not want another black-and-white cat -- in honour of Blackie -- but we got to the cage and there in the corner was this little ball of grey fluff. They asked if I wanted to hold her and that was it. I was smitten. Holly's mother had died when she was two weeks and she was bottle-raised by a loving ten-year-old boy. She was very, very small for her age. Several pleading text images to my hubby later, we were the proud owners of a new little girl. We found out she was born on Christmas Day and we adopted her on Valentine's Day.  We called her Holly. She had the biggest eyes and the most swollen belly. When we took her to the vet the next day to get her checked out the vet thought she had malnutrition and may possibly have a whole host of health issues. She was only 400g (14ou). I heard later that kittens under the weight of 500g rarely survive away from their mothers. Luckily all she needed was feeding up and lots of love and she made it. She was my little miracle.

Holly was the most playful kitten we had ever had the pleasure of being owned by. She quite often had us all in hysterics, especially when played with my husband, bounding all over the lounge chasing play toys on a string. She developed a special relationship with our cat Missi, who tried to be a mother to Holly. Holly didn't have a mother and Missi had never had any babies so I think they filled a need in each other. It wasn't always plain sailing though, and sometimes Missi just wanted to get away from Holly and Holly wouldn't take the hint.

After some months with us, Holly developed a health issue almost definitely related to her rough start in life. She panted all the time, and not just when she was stressed. If she exerted herself, she stopped and panted. She walked around so restless, crying this horrible cry. I worried it was heart related, but we got her vet tests that excluded a whole host of nasty things. After a couple months, with still no answers, Holly became quite feral. She attacked me twice quite badly. The vet put her on antianxiety meds which made her worse. We didn’t know what she would do from one minute to the next but she would not let you come near her. Many tearful nights followed, and I even got to the point where I considered it may be best to euthanize her. I just couldn’t imagine her being in this state the rest of her life. She was so unhappy. 

Finally I decided to try keeping her in my bedroom and on the anti-anxiety meds for a short time. I thought if I kept her isolated and gave her small doses of affection as she would allow, I would see how it would go. She eventually came round and after about five days she accepted being in the room. She was still hugely wary but would allow limited pats. She eventually started purring and I started giving her healthy treats to eat to reinforce the happy feelings. She seemed to feel quite safe in the room. This lasted for three weeks, during which time she had started cuddling me at night and demanding attention. Eventually we let her out, but our room remained her safe room. We developed routines so that she knew what was happening, and she seemed to really enjoy coming into the lounge and lying in the middle of us watching teli. She didn’t really want to be touched, but she was so cute; she cleaned herself and stretched into the most adorable poses. She seemed happy.

From there we decided to let her out of the house. She loved it! She boomed out that door and was free. The first time, I was worried what would happen, but she was back within the hour for a snack and a pat. Now what she loves is walking to the park with me. She loves climbing the trees and running around hiding. The last couple of weeks she has just become more and more friendly. She tolerates being held. She particularly likes my husband and often goes to him for pats, and she is now letting my daughter cautiously pick her up. She is sleeping on our bed and loves for me to hold her face in the palm of my hand. She has the loudest purr ever. 

We are all so relieved that she is obviously happy now. There is still a way to go though. We hope someday she will become a real cuddler. In the meantime the little offerings of affection that she gives and enjoys are just so special. We all love her dearly. We are so pleased that we didn’t give up on her.

All Photos Courtesy of and ©: M-O-O-N that spells ...
To see an adorable video of baby Holly, click here

Comments and LOLs:
Kayli -
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Kayli
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307 points
I'm so glad she is doing well :) Give her some love for me!
SeekingPlumb -
She's a cutie!! Lots of snuggles from me, too!! Wishing you both all the best!
Kephara -
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Kephara
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289 points
What a sweetie. And how wonderful that you devoted the time and love needed to get her through the rough patch. You are all lucky to have each other!
Archie -
That was quiet a situation u guys were in,kudos to u for not giving up... this story brought tears :( but im very glad to know that Holly is now healthy and happy... u guys are doing a really wonderful job... give my love to her :)
Gabby -
Gabby
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398 points
What a darling!!!
Holy Cuteness -
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Awwww, so sweet....
winkle -
winkle
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12 points
well done to you both for sticking with this little darling, she's beautiful
Robert -
I love it
sugarbuddy -
sugarbuddy
gold star pointsgold star partial points
42 points
well done to you both for sticking with this little darling, she's beautiful and so cute and sorry to hear about blackie
celinehoran -
celinehoran
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59 points
Wow, what an amazing story. You had me glued to the end. I'm so happy its ended happily. It's clear you are a fighter. Someone who fights for your relationships; in this case with the furey variety. And through your fight, you figured out what your little girl needed from you. And your perseverance paid off. Well done you!
goodoldbook -
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goodoldbook
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9 points
sewinggirl -
sewinggirl
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17 points
What a beautiful little kitty! I'm glad she's doing better. I pray she continues feel better!
MJ -
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what a lovely story i am glad you are willing to stick it out with Holly and accept for her for who she is. She is a beautiful little friend.
Nibbler -
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aw she's smiling! look just like my maine coon when he was a baby...
BarbaraG -
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BarbaraG
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5 points
Holly is beautiful,and very lucky to gave a good and loving home.I am thankful for people like you,who take the time to care f or those that need a little exra t.l.c :)
Natasha -
I want her!!!!!!!!
Heidi -
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Omgomg she is sooooo cute
Ingajonna -
Holly is beautiful! Thank you for working so hard to rescue her. It's people like you who make the world a better place, one animal at time. Keep loving her! If only every animal parent accepted that once you accept an animal (like a child) you accept all the good and the bad.
Vicki -
Holly is a beautiful little girl and I applaud your efforts to make her a happy girl too. Congrats to you on your success!
Samila69 -
Samila69
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3 points
Thank you guys for giving this kitten a chance and not give up on her. It would have been so easy to euthanize her but that wouldn't have been the right way. We need more people like you that take care if animals like you do.

We also adopted a bottle fed cat and we also bottle fed him. Luckily he is alright today and just a happy cat.

Give my love to Holly.
erika -
So much to learn from your story about what it takes to truly love someone, whatever their species.
Li -
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little girl is teary-eyed!! Cute!
BirmanMama -
BirmanMama
gold kitten points
951 points
What awesome, loving furparents! Holly is beautiful and what an wonderful story. I hope the vet figured out her problem and was able to help. Kudos to you for sticking with her and working through her problems.
sasa_bum@hotmail.com -
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sasa_bum@hotmail.com
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5 points
sasa_bum@hotmail.com -
sasa_bum@hotmail.com
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5 points
SO CUTE!
bono -
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bono
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181 points
Clearly, this kitten was waiting for you. What a story!! Patience and real unconditional love are hard to find...best wishes to you and Holly.
Kirsten -
I'm so glad the story had a happy ending! I was getting worried there. What a darling!
bijan613 -
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bijan613
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69 points
suzanne -
suzanne
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1 points
Thats so great you didn't give up on her. She is so cute. She is also lucky to have such a great home.
Carolyn -
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Carolyn
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85 points
She is so beautiful, for a little one like this to have so many problems already in her young life poor baby, just glad you didn't give up on her. She's just so adorable I hope she continues to do well. Just seeing her one can not help just wanting to cuddle her.She's so sweet. You've done a great job raising her Thank You
catiam -
catiam
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220 points
Beautiful kitty, beautiful story, beautiful people!
ksilver -
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ksilver
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155 points
ksilver -
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ksilver
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155 points
ksilver -
ksilver
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155 points
Such a beautiful queen of floofiness! I'm so glad you stuck with her - so totally worth it!
lynxgirl -
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Awwwwwwwwwww....soooooooooo very very SWEET!!!
Becky P -
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2 cute 4 words!!!
Mel -
What a doll! The very best to all of you!!
wokkawokka -
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wokkawokka
black kitten points
229 points
this might just be the cutest thing i've seen in the past 10 years.

btw, holly sounds like she has feline ocd. its a real thing. it shouldnt be funny, but it kinda is. does that make me a horrible person?
lovezkittys -
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lovezkittys
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162 points
she's soo beautiful!!!
SaraE826 -
SaraE826
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8 points
How do we send in pics of our cats? We have tons!
cricket -
cricket
gold star pointsgold star partial points
30 points
http://www.greenhopeessences.com/animal…
This site above provides flower essences that you can use and put some drops in her water, or just place on the back of her neck. They are very good to help animals that are going through trauma. It sounds like she is experiencing some issues like humans do. This may help though. She is adorable indeed. Good for you that you didn't give up on her, she found the right owner. Blessings.
yacketycat -
yacketycat
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41 points
So glad you didn't give up on this baby girl. :) She is so precious!
KitCat -
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KitCat
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3 points
Awww! This is so adorable! ^_^
wayout -
You're such a nice person to take care of her even in tough times. I'm so happy to know that Holly feels itself at home now.
Alice -
Alice
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44 points
Goodness! You sure had a long story to tell! Of course, I was much to lazy to read it. Your kitten's very adorable though, I can see why you where 'smitten'
rainpool_riverclan -
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rainpool_riverclan
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4 points
Sondra -
Such an adorable little baby. ^-^ I'm glad she has such a wonderful and loving home.
rpsv -
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rpsv
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25 points
chocoluv -
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chocoluv
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213 points
sweet
meowmeows -
meowmeows
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12 points
What a sweet little baby!!!



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