Author Archives: Camille Hulen

Bentley

posted July 15th, 2007 by Camille Hulen

Story by Camille Hulen

It was love at first sight when Jean saw the picture of the Maine Coon with his quizzical face. Then, as soon as Bentley met Jean, he began talking to her, and she fell further in love. He had such a unique way of expressing himself, not with purrs, but with squeaks and grunts. “He has issues,” the counselor warned her as she filled out the adoption papers. (It seems that Bentley had been adopted twice before and returned.) However, Jean felt that every cat deserves a loving home, and this cat was special.
Bentley investigated every corner of his new home immediately. Soon he became very active, tearing from one end of the house to the other. “Don’t you think I’m adorable?” he said, as he jumped from chair to sofa to bookcase. “Who said you should walk on the floor? It’s much more fun up here!” And then he would come and whisper to his new owner, endearing himself further, “You didn’t really like that antique vase, did you?”

A week later when the adoption center called, they did so with trepidation, afraid that he would be coming back again. They breathed a sigh of relief when they learned that he had a permanent home. You see, his new owner was willing to work with him, in spite of his “issues.” She had made a commitment, and it was for life. Besides, Bentley made her laugh!

Everyday held new surprises. Sometimes Bentley would take a mad dash across the room, climb the door jamb, then slide down like a fireman on a pole. Over and over, just for fun, of course! The other cat in the household just watched in amazement at this unruly fellow.

One never knew where you might find him. One day he was lost for hours. Where was Bentley? Aha, in the cupboard over the refrigerator. Of course, when feeding time came, he was in the refrigerator. Bentley was always hungry, for a cat with this much energy needed lots of food. He was not at all fat, for he burned off the calories with all of his antics.

At home, Bentley could watch his food being prepared, but when he went to board at the kennel, it was done in an adjacent room. When he heard action in the food prep area, he would repeatedly bounce three feet in the air, as if on a pogo stick, to look through the window. The other cats waited patiently, but not Bentley.

At the kennel, he refused to be caged. He would first trash the cage, then manipulate the latch until he got out. This is not unusual behavior for a Maine Coon, but Bentley was better at it than most. Next, Bentley deftly demonstrated how to open the screen door separating two sections of the kennel, earning the nickname Houdini.

When the owners adopted a black Lab who showed up on their doorstep, this was more entertainment for Bentley: another animal to tease. Why not deposit cat toys in front of the dog, let him eat them, and then watch him throw up? Why not sit on top of the dog’s crate and drop things on him? Why not shred papers for the dog to eat? (Bentley had already been outlawed from the office for unnecessary paper-shredding.)

As you can see, there is never a dull moment with Bentley around. So, how does one describe Bentley?

Words from “The Sound of Music” come to mind. Like Maria, Bentley makes you laugh. As the song says, he truly is “A flibbertijibbet! A will-o’-the wisp! A clown!”

Posted in All Past Articles, Cat Tales, General Interest, Summer 2007 | No Comments »

Rescuing Sugar Ray

posted April 15th, 2007 by Camille Hulen

By Camille Hulen

He had lost his mom and siblings, a young girl had rescued him, but he was still hungry.

Unfortunately, although she tried, the young lady did not know how to care for a kitten so young. Her mother wanted to help, but she didn’t know what to do either.
They gave the kitten dry food, but he longed for the warmth of mother’s milk. Finally, the girl’s mom asked a friend to intervene. The friend took the kitten to a foster home where the lady had cared for many small kittens.

When the kitten arrived, it was determined that he was at least a month old, but he weighed less than seven ounces. You could see every bone in his tiny body! He was also flea-infested: the foster mom gave him a bath and the water ran red with flea feces, the worst she had ever seen. But the water was warm, and so was the kitten formula that she fed him with a syringe. At last the kitten fell asleep. However, he awoke in two hours and cried again, for he was hungry. Night and day, every two hours, the lady fed him, and he fought to survive.

Then the kitten paid his first visit to the vet, who treated him for parasites that frequently accompany fleas. However, the vet did not offer any particular words of encouragement: this kitten was very malnourished. But he was a fighter,the vet said. The kitten continued to eat, but could not quite absorb all of the new food which was foreign to him, and he developed diarrhea, so hewent to visit the vet again. This time, the doctor stuck him with a big needle and gave him fluids to combat dehydration. His foster mom continued togive him lots of fluids, and he fought to survive.

He ate and ate, and new medication helpedhim to overcome the diarrhea. He would now diveinto a can of Fancy Feast™ and absolutely wallow in it, eating to his heart’s content. Next a new problem developed: an abscess at the site of thefluid injection required antibiotics. The wound healed, and as it did, he had this funny spot on the side of his body, a brighter color than the rest of his fur. Plus, he began to lose all the fur on his faceand forelegs, even his whiskers! You see, because he got his face so covered with food every time thathe ate, he had to have many baths. Because he suffered from malnutrition, his fur was fragile, and it just washed away. What a funny looking cat hewas! But he was a fighter, still trying to survive.

At last he began to respond. He was still skinny, not a cute round bundle of fur like most kittens. He even began to play. But, would anyone want him? He was awfully scrawny looking. What should we name him? He certainly wasn’t a “Fluffy” or a big bold “Tiger.” No, he had to be named after a fighter, because that he was. Thus, he was called “Sugar Ray,” after two great boxers named Sugar Ray.

As Sugar Ray grew, he was still thin, and notparticularly handsome, but his hair grew back and he developed an endearing personality. He was“quite a character,” someone said. Well, it so happened that the person whosaid that he was a “character”could not resist “the character,”and adopted him. Sugar Ray now lives with his new family of twoother cats, a dog, and two humans who love him dearly.

Posted in Cat Tales, Spring 2007 | No Comments »

Mustang Sally

posted January 15th, 2007 by Camille Hulen

The little black kitten had found a home at last! It wasn’t fancy, but she had a roof over her head and food to eat. And children to play with her!

However, as she grew up, the children played with her less and less, so she spent more time outside, finding her own entertainment in the form of mice and birds. There were other cats, too, and, in time, she had kittens of her own. The family still fed her, but she spent most of her time under the house. And then one day the family moved. What was a cat to do? They had moved without her.

She was hungry so she ventured into the car lot next door. Soon, the owner of the car lot saw her and fed her. However, the black kitten, which was now a cat, was afraid. Could she ever trust humans again?

Her plight grew worse. They bulldozed her house! “To expand the car lot,” they said. The nice lady still fed her, but then told her that she could not stay there. “Cars and antifreeze are dangerous,” she said. The lady said that she might be able to move into her home, so she took her to a veterinarian for a check-up and vaccinations, spaying her so that she would never have kittens again.

However, the black cat could not adjust to life in a home. She had become a feral cat, wary of humans, and preferring the freedom of outdoors. Another dilemma….

But there was a solution! Someone mentioned a ranch, where horses lived in a nice warm barn. Other cats lived there, too, where the owner protected them, fed them, and gave them medical care.

So they moved her, and she now has both freedom and friends. She has become known as “Mustang Sally”: the cat that formerly lived with cars, now lives with horses. Life is good!

Story by Camille Hulen

Posted in All Past Articles, Cat Tales, General Interest, Winter 2007 | No Comments »