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| Name: |
Lizzie
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Age: |
Thirteen years old
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| Gender: |
Female
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Kind: |
Tortoiseshell
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| Home: |
Metairie, Louisiana, USA |
In
August 2005, I had to evacuate because of Hurricane Katrina. I knew days before the
humans knew she was coming because the fur on my back was starting to stand up, my
whiskers dropped like the barometric pressure, and the air was eerily quiet. The only
problem is that my half-sister Camille, who coincidently was named for one of the worst
Hurricanes to hit the United States, would not come home when called. This fits the old
saying "scaredy-cat". The rest of us, which included my other half-sisters, Linka and
Wednesday, went an hour north from home to the country. The morning Katrina hit the trees
snapped liked twigs all around the house and brought down the power lines. I was so
grateful none hit the house. The wind was furocious. For the next twenty-two days we had
no electricity, my fur got sticky, and my sisters began to smell. The day after the storm
at 2:45 in the morning I was awoken out of a small nap by huge bulldozers clearing the
highway of all the trees that fell. There were so many, that in some areas, you barely saw
the asphalt. Oh, lest we forget my ears rang for weeks because everyone here somehow got
a hold of a chainsaw and cut the trees on their property to the size of fire logs. During
the time that we had no electricity and martial law was in order, my humans traveled home
to check on Camille to find she was apparently traumatized but unharmed. She would not
come close enough for mom to catch her but took moist food from her hand through the
fence. Bottled water was left in a big dish as well as food and she was checked on as
often as possible. As I lived in the country until it was safe enough to go home, I found
it 180° different than the city. I saw foxes, possums, and raccoons all night long. During
the day there were way more birds and I think Wednesday may have encountered a snake
because she was so rattled one day that when she came in after an adventure out, she did
not want to leave the house again. That evening I think I heard her counting how many
lives she had left. The smells are way different and occasionally I heard gun shots
because hunting is a big sport in the country. Linky, her pet name, was so petrified she
hid under the covers. I trust you can tell this is why I am the head of this cathouse. If
I had not kept calm amongst us, we would have gone to the dogs and at this point and time,
they were running the streets acting feral in order to survive, poor things. Did I just
say that?
On our way home just before entering Metairie on the Causeway over Lake
Pontchartrain I began to see the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. It was Catastrophic! I saw
Camille in the yard as we pulled into the driveway. She had lost weight, but was OK. She
greeted me by the patio door, but still would not come in. That took two more days. She
told me stories of the bad water in the streets that she tried a few sips of and it made
her sick, no lights at night, the military patrolling the streets with big guns and
outside law enforcement. She said instead of seeing our usual JP for Jefferson Parish
Police or NOPD on the units it said NYPD. She said she knew she was safe as well as our
house and neighborhood with all these great law agencies here. The three trees in my
neighbor's back yard that shaded my yard were uprooted and many fences were missing. My
neighbors were mostly gone, but returned in time. Our roof sustained damaged and once
again my poor kitty ears had to endure intense noise; this time right above my head. I
probably will lose some of my hearing long before I am suppose to. My sisters and I have
been through a tough time, Camille even a tougher one; but we will walk with our tails
high in the air now because we are cats and are of a superior species. We always land on
our paws.
I hope that all the lost kitties and yes, dogs too, displaced by Hurricanes'
Katrina & Rita find their rightful owners or can be adopted by loving homes soon. There
are plenty down here waiting for devoted; caring homes to live in like mine.
I would now like to give you the original profile of my life prior to Hurricane Katrina.
Meow, I am Elizabeth, typically called Lizzie. My human mom, Charlotte, rescued me over twelve
years ago from an abusive home. The tip of my tail is broken but my vet (she is the best,
meow Dr. M. Jackson), said it was better left alone, and I have several broken teeth. I
balance just fine with my tail and with proper dental care my teeth are fine.
Upon inspection of my new home there was a six-year-old human boy named Jacob living there
and he loved me right away. I also found two sister calico cats as well. Victoria went on
to cat heaven after an illness a few years later and Linka is now twelve and half years
old and a bit on the fluffy side if you get my drift! It took some doing, but soon I
became queen of the castle and everything was fine. I was the dominant cat even though I
was the smallest in statue. But something changed six years ago when we adopted a couple
of stray sisters brought by their mother to our house as kittens to feed. Their names are
Wednesday and Camille. They were the most disruptive little things, but mom did not have
the heart to let them rat the streets, especially after an accident sent their brother
Scratchy to cat heaven.
My palate has become very refined in my older years and visions of how my ancient
ancestors were treated. I insist on being hand fed when the humans are eating. My
favorites are pizza, (and almost anything Italian), fried chicken, meatloaf, and banana
pancakes. Oh, and if it falls on the floor, forget it!! Someone else can get it; for it
is no longer good enough for me to eat. Also I like the last bit of milk left over from
cereal in a bowl, preferably Froot Loops. In addition I have been known to lick the cheese
off Doritos.
We moved over four years ago and Wednesday and Camille love our large yard and that of our
neighbors. They seem to own more territory now. As you can see from my picture, I just lie
in the widow by the yard and delegate what should be done. Linky and I are indoor cats,
but do get to go in the yard and relax in the sun. This picture was taken in June so I
prefer to stay indoors and enjoy the A/C. I have humans who love and treat me right and
cats that respect the royalty of my name, even though Wednesday thinks she is more
dominant. I do exactly what I want, when I want, and this is it right here.
I truly am a queen and this is a great life!
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