Along Came Maisie!!

Found in a pasture by a cowboy on a ranch where my daughter works, tiny, helpless, seemingly abandoned, diminutive, calico, baby girl. 

Rrrrrrring!

"Mom, this little kitten was found out in the pasture by Logan! Could you come get it & take care of it until branding time is over? Then I can take care of it. It's a darling little calico!"

There are many instances in life when you don't have to pray about what to do. So, my husband & I drove the hour distance & picked up little Miss Maisie. I knew that would be her name before I even saw her. & boy oh boy! what a set of kitty lungs! We tucked her into a soft, comfy blanket & off to the veterinarian back in our home town. Dawn, the Vet Tech, became our lifeline for this bit of fluff over the next few weeks. We have had cats, usually from the already weaned stage, dozens, over the past forty years but we had NEVER bottle raised a kitten from a week old. This was a new era. We felt like parents for the first time. At 72 & 74 years old! Sooo, loaded down with kitty formula, bottle, a quick stop at out local Runnings store, we picked up a kitten sized litter box & other necessities (probably not) we headed home. The first thing, feed kitty. How hard could it be, right? She was hungry, squalling, much like a human baby. & as we were about to find out, with the exact demands of a human newborn baby! Maisie did not take to the bottle right away, or rather, she didn't take to the nipple. It was a frenzied fight every time my husband fed her, until she learned how to suck. & it was a new lesson every time she drank. Which was every two to three hours. Round the clock. My husband would set the alarm & then I would get up, prepare the bottle, sleepy husband gets up, gets into position, then I get Maisie up, stimulate bottom with a cotton ball, (I learned this from Miss Dawn, vet tech) said bottom responded in one of two ways, (or both. Or neither! Uh oh. Call Dawn!)  I'm sure you get my meaning. Give to husband. Thus ensues frenzied feeding time.  Suck, lose nipple, frenzy until nipple is found, repeat. But, how much should she be eating? What's too much? Could she die of over-eating? Or starve from under-eating? (Call Dawn) We were told to make sure she was kept in a warm place. But what was too warm? Or not warm enough? (Call Dawn) How do we teach her to use the litter box? (Call Dawn) How do we know when it's time to introduce her to wet kitty food? (You guessed it. Call Dawn) & the list goes on & on! We went online, & there were so many conflicting instructions, so, we called Dawn. & Dawn was always patient (though she may have rolled her eyes a time or two), & very kind in all of our questions.  It's scary when  something so tiny is totally dependent on you for their life.

But the days went on, though it seemed like one endless day, because with the demanding schedule it seems like that's all that we did. No 'seem' about it now that I think about it. Our whole lives revolved around Maisie's feeding schedule. & we both had to be there because neither one of us could do it alone. The two of us made one pretty good mother! 

If we went anywhere, we did it when she was sleeping. But usually we were too tired & sleepy to go anywhere or do anything. When we got up in the middle of the night, usually twice, we would be up at least forty-five minutes each time. It wasn't always easy to get back to sleep then. Or elderly dog had awakened & needed to go out to take care of her toilette. Then other cats (six!) decided it must be time to get up so time to eat! I could barely function during the day to even get basic work around the house done. Once, eating a piece of jerky,
 I fell asleep three times while chewing. Seriously! This went on for four weeks! (That's why there is no May post. I was consciously unconscious during that time.) Then, feeding times lengthened to every four hours, then every six hours, & now we can sleep through the night. Ahhhhh, to sleep, perchance to dream. 🐈

I want to add that after a couple of weeks, Dawn told us about "The Miracle Nipple" which we ordered & it indeed was a miracle! Maisie accepted it right away & feeding time was much more enjoyable for all concerned.

So, she grew & grew.

That's Patsy who has taken a maternal position & always let's us know where little miss Maisie who is six weeks now & is big enough to roam & play & get into mischief when we can't find her. & she learned on her own how to use the litter box & prefers the community one over her own. She learned how to drink water but preferred the community one over her own. She weaned herself so goodbye to formula. (We do rather miss that one.) She eats some wet food but started on dry on her own. No more calls to Dawn. ("Whew!" says Dawn.)

My ranch daughter said to me, "Gosh Mom, how are you going to give her up?"

In the words of Horton the elephant,

"NOT!!!"

No, what I really said was, 

"I'm not. She's ours. We earned her."

When we adopted our two youngest kids, we were in our late forties & our early fifties. As I said, some things you don't need to pray about. It wasn't convenient, it wasn't easy, finances did not come pouring in, my husbands & my youth was not miraculously restored (although I really thought it would be!) Our age group was doing things our age group does, so that left us mostly alone. We struggled as if we were a young couple, but we weren't. So many times the spirit was definitely willing but the flesh was definitely weak! The Lord let us live out our humanity. But we also lived out God's promises, like "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." & "He that dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide in the Shadow of the Almighty." or "the joy of the Lord is my strength." & here's a really good one.

"Children are a heritage of the Lord...a reward from Him. Blessed is the man (& woman) that has his quiver full." & adoption does not make them any less ours. In fact, when they became ours, in the eyes of the Lord, our DNA became theirs. Just like when we accept Jesus as the way, the truth & the life, His DNA is infused into us, His blood is ours now. The knowledge of that is a "WOW!" moment. & that is all because of love. Which called for sacrifice. A laying down of His life, which was planned for from the beginning. Jesus didn't pray about it. He didn't ask if it would hurt, or if it was convenient or how much it would cost Him. It didn't matter. The price was worth it. How about that. Another WOW moment...

No greater love than to lay down ones life, in the living or the dying. Whether it's a friend, a child or even a kitten. It's not the who or what, it's the action of love that makes us grow into the likeness of our beautiful Redeemer. It's something we grow into all of our lives. As for me, well, along came Maisie. & another chance to die to myself. Another chance to live that greater love.

But you know what? She's worth it.

You know what else? Jesus says the same thing about us.

All of us Maisies in the world. To Jesus, we're worth it.

Wow... Awesome.

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Raintree Perk of the Day:

"...All creatures great & small...

The Lord God made them all."

🐈

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