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| Name: |
Schpitz
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Age: |
Two years old
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| Gender: |
Male
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Kind: |
Norwegian Forest Cat
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| Home: |
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Schpitz, or Schpitzy as we call him came to us unexpectedly. We noticed this big fluffy orange and white cat playing on our road last summer. Upon closer inspection we saw that this gorgeous young fluffernutter of a feline was playing with a rock! My husband approached him gingerly and was able to talk to him and stroke him gently. "What a beautiful tail!" he exclaimed. I will call him "Schpitz." (We name all the strays who come for food and water. We take care of three or four at any given time. Some have been coming daily for years but won't come inside...we love all of them) we even made houses including a permanent one on our deck that the cats use in inclement weather.
Schpitz, or Schpitzy as we call him came to us unexpectedly. We noticed this big fluffy orange and white cat playing on our road last summer. Upon closer inspection we saw that this gorgeous young fluffernutter of a feline was playing with a rock! My husband approached him gingerly and was able to talk to him and stroke him gently. "What a beautiful tail!" he exclaimed. I will call him "Schpitz." (We name all the strays who come for food and water. We take care of three or four at any given time. Some have been coming daily for years but won't come inside...we love all of them) we even made houses including a permanent one on our deck that the cats use in inclement weather.
Anyhow, the cat rolled around and darted away and came back in a playful manner a few times. Then he upped and marched away from our house with quite a confident swagger.
We felt like we had been visited by a special cat angel. You see, that day my husband had felt particularly sad that he hadn't seen his own son for some time. Interacting with this beautiful fair and playful cat eased his anguish and he explained that he felt that perhaps this lion of a cat came to him as a reminder that his own son named Leo (which means lion) would eventually come to him too.
We didn't see this cat for several months but we spoke about him and wished he would return someday. Meanwhile things got worked out with Leo and regular visit were scheduled. Last December 23rd we were looking out the window to our backyard and lo and behold, the fluffy cat came back! My husband was so excited he ran outside and scooped the kitty up in his arms and brought him inside. He spent a great deal of time caressing him and talking to him. The cat eventually came up from the basement and ate some fresh cat food as we have a 4 year old male buff tabby named Sandy. Well needless to say we were thrilled and also a bit apprehensive. Would Schpitz get along with Sandy? Would he stay the night? Well he did stay a few hours and slept under our bed, but then he began meowing loudly and wanted to get out. With a heavy heart we opened the door, after telling him he was welcome to stay for warmth, food and a good home. We didn't see him the next day.
HOWEVER...on Christmas day my husband's son came for brunch with his mom AND a few minutes later so did Schpitz! He walked right in the door and sashayed through the kitchen and family room!
Talk about good timing. Schpitzy stayed for two weeks, eating well, sleeping under the bed daytime and going out at night while Sandy either avoided him or hissed if Schpitzy got too close. We decided it was time to take him to the Vet now that trust had been set. We wanted to know if he belonged to someone and assess his health.
We were not surprised he was microchipped and healthy and about 18 months old. The vet contacted the microchip company to have Schpitz 's owner notified. A few hours later we received a call. The owner said Schpitz had been missing for six months, and that he lived over 100 miles away! We were dumbfounded. How did he get here and how did he manage to survive? The owner was very kind to us. He said he had Schpitz's sibling and had recently got a dog, and that we could keep Schpitz if we wanted to. He even emailed us all his health records and breed info. And he informed us his real name was TRIX... Well we were overjoyed to say the least. A stunning Norwegian forest cat with all immunizations up to date and neutered as well. Unbelievable... By the way if you Google Norwegian Forest Cat you will see how he is a perfect example of his breed, and even the Wikipedia entry has a photo of his doppelganger as an example. And what's even more uncanny is that the name Schpitz means "perfect example of" in Yiddish. Imagine that!
Today Schpitzy loves us, especially my husband, as they share a special bond. He lets my husband take care of his heavy coat which gets matted and full of burs and sometimes ticks. He is a high maintenance Prince that's for sure! He sleeps in funny stretched out positions. Schpitzy follows him everywhere inside and even takes him for walks. Schpitzy even took him to the Eco house, a local green teaching museum and community garden down the street... There Schpitzy showed us all the places he hid when he was lost and alone, and he also rolled in the gardens where mint and raspberries are grown.
Our poor Schpitzy has recently become an indoor only cat after having suffered a bite wound that became infected. It's been almost two months and finally he's letting us sleep now and no longer trying to escape!
Schpitz is truly a miracle cat. He deserves to be Cat of the day!
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