A Paws For Pets — Lazarus
Every cat or kitten ever to arrive at the doors of the Cat Sanctuary and York Adopt a Pet has a story. Thankfully I have kept records of each and every cat. I have shared 417 stories with you in the past 17 years. As I shared the story of Lazarus on Good Friday March 21, 2008, I think his story should be repeated on this Good Friday, April 7, 2023.
I received a call before 8 a.m., from a York County resident. This is the story he relayed to me. The previous Thursday a small black and white male kitten appeared on their acreage. This was not the first time a cat had most likely been dumped near their home and found their way into their yard.
This little guy was friendly and quickly attached himself to their children. They also have a family black lab farm dog that cannot be stopped from chasing rabbits, ground squirrels or unfortunately any cat or kittens that wander into their yard. The lab is not a vicious dog, but he cannot be trusted around little friendly black and white male kittens. They put food and water in a place to assure the little kitten he was safe but with kittens being kittens, he just didn’t understand the big black dog wasn’t his new friend. Even when he was chased up a tree and rescued by the family, he continued to try being friends.
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The following Monday, tragedy struck. The children came running into the house to get Dad. The family dog had caught little Lazarus and they were scared the little kitten was being hurt. Dad came running into the yard and was dismayed to see the kitten in the lab’s mouth. Little Lazarus was limp and when he managed to retrieve the kitten, the outlook was not good. He managed to usher the kids back into the house. He picked the limp little kitten up with the help of a shovel and gingerly placed it in his pickup and drove down in the pasture on his property. Since the ground was still frozen, he gently placed the little kitten under a low lying bush.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday went by. His son told him Wednesday night he heard a meowing outside. Dad retrieved the flashlight and walked all around the yard. No sign of a cat or kitten. The next morning his son said he heard the meowing again. On a whim, Dad raised the blinds on the window of his son’s basement bedroom egress window and couldn’t believe what he saw. There sat the little black and white kitten looking at him through the window pane.
He immediately called me and asked if I could pick up the kitten. He said as much as they wanted to keep the kitten, they couldn’t put him in future danger. He wasn’t sure how badly he was injured but he assured me he was friendly.
I called Kim Hart and we drove out to see what awaited us. I wasn’t certain how I was going to get an injured kitten from an 8-foot egress window but Kim was my back up. The black lab was secured in the garage before we arrived. We got out of the car with the kennel in hand and as we walked around the house, I saw the egress window. As we started to walk towards it, we both saw a streak of black and white flying out of the window, running right up to us. I gingerly picked him up, thinking that he could be badly injured with internal injuries or broken bones. He was purring and his little paws were kneading. As I drove directly to Gloysteins/York Animal Clinic, Kim held him and he was perfectly content. He seemed to enjoy his newest venture. He was checked over and unbelievably, except for a small cut on his lip, he was fine, no broken bones, no internal injuries. He was Felv-Fiv tested and given the necessary vaccinations.
Claudia, who works at York Animal Clinic, asked me, “Have you named this little guy?” I said I hadn’t. She responded, “Well I just did, and his name is Lazarus!”
This little purring kitten with his kneading paws and two sparkling green eyes can handle the name. He was either stunned by the violent shaking from the lab or lost consciousness from a blow to the head. But for an extended period of time, he was limp and never moved or made a sound while being picked up or transported to his “final” resting place. It took him approximately 2 1/2 days to return, but the important thing is he DID return.
This little guy has used a number of his nine lives but the home he will eventually be adopted into will safeguard those lives he has left. They will make certain of that. This little guy with his precious personality comes running as soon as he hears the door open and he is endearing in his zest for life. Even the older, less tolerant senior cats here at the sanctuary seem to accept Lazarus as a burst of youth and life. If I didn’t know better I would think I saw a “cat smile” on Sky the monarch and temperamental alpha cat as she sits and watches him from her perch. Lazarus is by far the smallest and youngest residing at the sanctuary but he has bridged all gaps of generations, genders and personalities. He is Lazarus, our little miracle kitten. He is life.
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