I Think They Call It "Strange"

So I went to the store for a pack of smokes and a neighbor walked with me. He dawdles... a lot. So I'm outside, waiting for him to cut the lollygagging and finish his transaction, when a pretty, little kitten comes bobbling toward me.

He was just as thin as a cat can be and still be alive - just a fuzzy spine, really - but had beautiful, green eyes. "Me-ew?" he said as he inched forward. He was bobbling because one of his back legs had been hurt.

As he got closer, I could see what a gorgeous thing he was: a curious blend of white and soft yellow, covered by soft-gray markings, with a curiously twitchy and impossibly long tail. He had a flea collar, so he must have run off from someone, and he's right at Scamper's age.

"Mew?" he asked and immediately started head-butting my foot, my leg, my hand. When I went to pet him, the poor thing hunkered-down and winced, so I can only imagine how his little leg got all wonkified to begin with. I went to leave and here he came, all tipping to one side as he tried to keep-up.

Now, how can I leave well-enough alone? How can you call a scared, pretty, wonky kitten in a store parking lot "well-enough," to begin with? And Scamp needs a companion!

So, we have a new addition to our consistently messy household... God help us!

Technically, I'm not allowed to have more than one pet, and I have every intention of taking photos and making a FOUND sign, but for the immediate future, Wonky is here to stay.

Since at least one person was kind enough to answer my question about fleas, I wanted to go ahead and put it to you:

I worked as a vet tech for about a year (many years back), but my job was largely to feed and walk the animals, take fecal samples and look at them under a microscope, and hold them when they got their shots (yes, including The Shot), etc., so I know some things, but I'm far from an expert.

My question is: I know a little about feline leukemia and this cat has been outside for a while. He's obviously very domesticated and someone cared for him, but is there anything I should know or any steps I should take to protect both my pussies?

Any other advice or suggestions are always welcome!

Little update post coming up, too.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008