Cupcake #2 and His New, Forever Home (and NAME!)

Thus far, our man Cupcake was a young tomcat just getting along in his small and often-confusing world... When The Flood of 1994 came literally into his basement, trapping him high up on a shelf, not knowing when or whether anyone was going to come and try to rescue him ... and whether they would be successful if they did.


Cupcake didn't know it, but outside of his own basement, nearly the entire city (population over 175,000 at the time) was under water in some way.  The MAJORITY of homes had at least a foot deep of rain water in their basements and / or first floor rooms.  Even worse for our cat friend's situation was the fact that about half of ALL the main streets (forget about the small side roads!) were closed, damaged and flooded too.  


Cupcake is stoic when he tells his story to other cats... It's difficult even to imagine how he felt each day, waiting and hoping and wondering, and afraid.  He tells me that he drank the ample supply of water, even though it wasn't very gourmet in flavor; and it was SIX days without kibbles or any food at all before they got to him!!!  The Man had known Cupcake needed him, knew that he needed to get to that basement somehow, but after a couple of days dealing with human emergencies in his neighborhood, The Man STILL could not get to the house on foot, nor in a car, no way, no how.  All of Grandma's family was horrified, devastated, frightened, upset, panicked ... almost as much as Cupcake himself, he suspects.  But he never lingers too long on this part of the events.  Because what might have been a tragic ending to a young, furry life, instead became a sparkling opportunity...


After announcing to his family that the road was un-blocked and he was going to see what had become of the cat, The Man left his house and arrived at Grandma's place.  He immediately opened the basement door, where he could see that the water had mostly retreated from the area.   He called Cupcake #2's name, he craned his neck down around the stairway railing, but he saw NO SIGN of the cat.  He walked the entire length and width of the un-furnished basement, barely noting the damage, noting instead that there was no sign of the cat anywhere.  Feeling very sad but holding onto a teeny-tiny shred of hope, The Man prepared a small bowl of Cupcake's favorite delicacies (salmon-flavored canned food, plus a couple of crunchy treats) and a bowl of fresh, cold water.  The Man put these on the top step, just where he always left them. Pondering what to do, how to find Cupcake #2 and thinking about the cat's short life, The Man was startled out of his revelry by a noise that sounded like ... well, it sounded like crunching of food! ... and was that... lapping of water on a little tongue?   He shoved his chair back from where he was sitting at the desk upstairs so fast that Cupcake #2 remembers feeling weakly afraid, that maybe he should run back to safety (that top shelf had been perfect camouflage as well).  But he was too exhausted.  Starving and thirsting for REAL water, he practically inhaled everything put out for him, then looked up with huge, amber Ragdoll eyes for the first time directly into the face of The Man who, somehow Cupcake #2's instincts told him, was there to save him.


ONE MONTH LATER


It had been another day of unexpected-ness.  But THIS day, Cupcake had known it from the moment the humans arrived at his house that morning, was special.  He could feel it even in his tail, that sensation letting him know that this was somehow a ... sparkly day, a day for HIM.


A different human man and his wife had arrived at the house with the usual Man.  The Wife carried a roomy, brand-new-looking, blanket-interiored cat carrier with her.  Both of them took one look at the large, fluffy gray Ragdoll-mix that Cupcake #2 had become; immediately, they were ooh'ing and aaah'ing and making cooing noises to him.  He was startled by these newcomers, but his instincts told him they were very good people and that their behavior was welcoming him.  He hardly noticed as the Husband packed up his few meager belongings -- a catnip ball here, a small plush mouse there.  Meanwhile, the Wife picked Cupcake up himself, all 14 pounds of him, and ruffled his ample coat gently... "What a big sweetie," she whispered to him.  He had become as still as a rock, not being used to human handling at ALL but thinking at the same time that he just might like it.


As you can surely figure out, these were Cupcake's forever-humans, who had come to take him out of his solitary home where The Flood had nearly taken him away with its rushing water.  They couldn't have been a better fit for Cupcake #2:  each of his humans had always loved pets and had animals in their homes, and each especially ADORED cats.  In fact, Sabrina was waiting at home to become his new, shiny, black-haired sister cat.


After bravely making acquaintance with the vet and a cat groomer who shaved ALL of his matted fur off his body and tail (It couldn't be combed or conditioned, he overheard the groomer explain to his new humans), it was time to go home.  HOME!  But right before he was carried inside and let out to explore, his new humans presented him with a gift, a name-tag like he'd seen other pets wear in the neighborhood.  And his new Mom had a statement to make as she hung it lovingly around his neck:


"This is your new tag with a new NAME for you on it," she explained, fastening his shiny gift around his hairless neck.  "You've survived more than most cats EVER even see in their lives, and you are a big boy now, a tough tomcat.  So we are giving you a new name for your new life with us..."  As his new Dad lifted the feline gently out of the carrier to bring him inside his forever home (a two-story house with windows everywhere (!) and lots of sunshine, blankets, and plenty of space to run and roll around), his Mom reached out to stroke his head with caring fingers and said:


Welcome to your new house, Rocky!  This is where you belong, now and forever.


Blogger's note:  Rocky has lived the past 16 years with that same family, and also with Sabrina, his same-aged sibling.  He definitely grew into his name, in size and fluff and personality.   He became a happy, healthy, playful (although always shy of strangers and never, ever a fan of water!) cat through the loving, careful, and patient attention of his new owners, to whom all of us that love him are just as grateful as he is for adopting him into their lives.  And now, here's the "man," the legend himself (he's skinnier now in his older age, but still healthy and playful)...