CLARENCE TURNS ONE!

Headline! Clarence turns ONE on May 19th!

My dear little kitten is turning One! I can’t believe it!

It seems like only yesterday I picked him up from the Humane Society to provide him fostering until he recovered from his amputation surgery. The little guy was shocked and disoriented to find the appendage gone, and my heart went out to him. It didn’t take long for me to realize he was meant to stay with us.

May 19th may not be his real birthday, but it is the one his previous owner gave when Clarence was surrendered to OHS. I don’t know why they didn’t want him, but they did the right think by bringing him to the shelter where he could get the medical care he needed and then go to a real forever home.

He was a little ball of fluff when he came, though big for a 6-month-old kitten. At first he was quiet. Friendly but withdrawn. I think it was partially the pain medication, because as he healed he got more curious. And as he got more curious, he got more kittenish. It didn’t take long before he was running-hopping around the house like any other cat his age.

Tyler, my 20-year-old tabby wasn’t so sure about Clarence, and sometimes still isn’t. At first I was worried big Tyler might bully Clarence, but it turned out to be the other way around. Clarence and his kittenish ways can be tough on the old cat, especially when Tyler would rather nap than chase, but it’s getting better. I’m not sure they will ever be curl-up friends, but lately I’ve seen them sitting together watching the birds through the screen door. That’s a start.

I’ve loved watching Clarence grow, both physically and mentally. It’s fun to watch him encounter something he’s never seen before. The weather warmed this week, and the other day we pulled out the tower fan. Clarence wasn’t sure what that moving, huffing monster was, but he was definitely interested.

So Happy Birthday, dearest Clarence! May there be many more to come!