Snapshots Sunday: Pooh Bear
Stumpy-tailed Manx
05-14-2008
Pooh was not originally my cat. When the Marine and I moved to Texas, Pooh (the owners called him Oliver) lived three doors away. He was very friendly and walked the sidewalks like a person. The story we got from the owner was, he was purchased as a kitten for her son. Her son developed allergies to the cat so, she put him outside. He could get in and out of the garage and, had a sleeping pad on a bench on the front porch.
01-01-2008
He didn’t visit our house too much because we had Buddy. When we lost Buddy, he got closer and closer to the front door, unsure because he wasn’t allowed in his own home. One day, we opened the door and he walked in. We fed him some tuna and…he stayed. We taught him how to use the cat doors we already had and he returned to us every day. His previous owner, at this point, had re-married, had two more kids (plus the husband’s kid) and three dogs. I’m not sure they ever noticed.
01-24-2011
He didn’t look like an Oliver to us. My Marine made the remark that he looked like a little bear walking up the sidewalk. I immediately went to my childhood days and thought “Pooh!” He got a new name with his new home.
Pooh liked to watch TV.
02-25-2009
Poor Pooh had spine problems related to his stumpy tail. The entire time he was with us, he had spells…twice a day. Something in his spine would move or catch and he would howl in pain. Then, he would chase the pain…until he was dizzy. It was something bizarre to watch and you couldn’t miss the sound. Think Looney Tunes’ Tasmanian Devil. When he regained his faculties, he would begin to groom as if nothing had happened. Unfortunately for me, some of those spells occurred in my lap. I still have scars…bless his heart.
He was our baby for three and a half years. He developed pancreatic cancer and had to be put down February 17, 2011. He was a character. When he wanted your attention and you weren’t fast enough, he made this sound of frustration that always reminded me of Number 5/Johnny Five from Short Circuit.
06-20-2009
May 11, 2020 at 11:16 AM
I am so glad you opened your heart and your door to Pooh! He needed a family and you needed a fur baby.
Hugs to you. You are special, My Friend
May 11, 2020 at 2:57 PM
He was absolutely adorable. Such a good baby. And, he seemed very happy in his new home. The other place was complete chaos and he was the only one not allowed in the house.
I didn’t have much choice with his outcome. The vet said they could do surgery & chemo but, there was no guarantee he’d even survive all that or even have quality of life if he did. They gave him pain meds to ease his difficulty breathing and they put him to sleep. He purred with me until he was gone. I still have his ashes. It just occurred to me that maybe he needs to be released back to Mother Earth…
May 11, 2020 at 3:37 PM
I can imagine your tears…I feel them, now, in my heart!
May 11, 2020 at 11:42 PM
I cried, again, typing…and he’s been gone nine years.
May 12, 2020 at 12:25 PM
😦 Hugs to you. Maybe your kitty now would like a blog post. Hugs
May 12, 2020 at 1:44 PM
I do need to do another Oliver the Orange post…🤔
May 12, 2020 at 3:42 PM
Yes!!
May 13, 2020 at 2:45 AM
😀
May 11, 2020 at 7:04 PM
Oh, I love your Pooh! That last photo got a good chuckle out of me!! 😃
May 11, 2020 at 11:54 PM
He was something. Been gone nine years and I still miss him.
May 11, 2020 at 10:31 PM
That’s an incredibly sweet story. Thanks for sharing it with us.
May 12, 2020 at 12:44 AM
Welcome. Thank you for reading.
May 13, 2020 at 2:47 AM
So cool you two gave him a home. It sucks that it had that problem. We had a dog that had seizures… I felt helpless.
May 13, 2020 at 3:18 AM
Yeah. He could be pitiful with it and, when the pain was gone, he was kinda funny. It was NOT funny when he had those fits in my lap. If I wasn’t fast enough, I was wearing band-aids. I couldn’t get mad at him for it. He couldn’t help it. I would just try to catch him, quickly, to stop the clawing.
This is very similar to how he sounded only it was one long wail instead of the “ow-wow-wow-wow-wow”. The mouth movements were the same after he stopped wailing…then, he started to groom:
https://youtu.be/r_OQcHj54Tw
May 24, 2020 at 6:55 PM
Lovely story, never heard a cat named after a bear before 😉
May 24, 2020 at 3:32 PM
😁