Sammi Jo / A Rescue Story (Chapter 1 & 2)

Chapter 1 / Sammi Jo's Rescue

#introduceyourself

This is who we are / This is what we do

On Sunday Sept 27th 2010 around 6-7 pm our phone rang. It was the Crazy Cat Lady that lived near us. She said they had found a litter of kittens underneath their car, One was the kind of kitten we had told them we liked. A long hair Siamese Rag Doll Mix.

We walked over to check them out, Both of us talking about this kitten & agreeing that we did not need a 3rd cat right now, as the 2 we had were nearly 17 yrs old & would not handle the stress of a kitten very well at all. I was NO Fan of the 2 we had, and tolerated them only for Kelly, She Loved them Unconditionally.

When we arrived, they handed us a dirty little ball of white fluff with Big Blue Eyes. She was the runt of the litter and we could tell She was weak & needed help. She was so small She fit into the tee shirt pocket my wife was wearing. Kelly looked at Me and said, "Can we keep Her?" We both just knew that little Rag Doll would not survive the cold night if her Momma kitty did not return.

As we were walking home, Kelly had a smile and a sound in Her voice i had not heard in a few years. My wife Kelly had lost Her Mother after a long battle with Breast Cancer. Kelly's Mom Pam had passed away near Mothers Day earlier that year in May of 2010, Kelly was fighting Her own battle with a long deep dark depression from going thru the several year battle & long slow loss of Her Mother to that Terrible Monster we call Cancer.

When we got the little kitten inside and were cleaning her up, we found some blood on the T-Shirt, and on the Lil ones belly, a closer look found an open wound on her belly, we first thought maybe her belly button had become infected, or the aggressive Florida fire ants had gotten to her. We then saw something moving, There was something ALIVE inside Her Belly Button. It was a BOT FLY LARVA...!!! (Bot Fly Larva = Maggot), We then knew for sure, She was in Trouble, And so were we. Now it was 8-9 pm on a Sunday night, Slim to no chance at a Veterinarian. And if so it would be very expensive. We searched on the Internet to find info on the removal, it sounded like something we could do.

We decided to do the removal, but we needed something very sharp to lance the hole, it was the size of the tip of a ball point pen. The Bot Larva has barbs and a toxin inside it. If pulled thru the hole, it would break open and the already weak kitten might die.

Kelly had worked in a secretarial position for the Department of Corrections Since 1996 and she suggested we do what the inmates do, Make a scalpel out of a disposable razor, While She went off to the store in search of kitten milk and food. I created a scalpel with a small pair of vice scripts and a razor blade. At About 11 pm that Sunday night we performed minor surgery on a small kitten soon to be named "Sammi Jo"

Video Link :
https://steemit.com/krazzytrukker/@krazzytrukker/98r6f69r

We put little Sammi Jo in a basket, and slept with Her between our heads that night. Needless to say, Neither one of us slept much that night. The next morning Kelly said to Me, "I can not take Her to work with Me, You will have to take her out on the road with You," "You will have to pull over to stop & feed Her a bottle of kitty milk every 3-4 hrs." How could i say no? After all, I had just cut Her tummy open and plucked a live larva from inside Her.

Well I did it, I took Her out on the Road....... That day was the beginning of...... "Sammi Jo The Trucking Kitty"

Chapter 2 / The Trucking Kitty

#introduceyourself

I am a long haul truck driver, My name is Randy, I go by "Krazzy Trukker," Cuz ya gotta be CRAZY 2 do this job.!!
I started driving tractor trailers in 1992. I bought my first truck in April 1996. I have been an Owner Operator since.
I have never had a pet of any kind out in my Trucks. I am on truck #4 now. 18 long long years of homesickness & lonely days & nights. Why...? Just knowing what I know now, I wish i had taken a furry companion with me much much sooner. Sammi Jo makes me smile & laugh every day. I fell in love with this little kitten, How is that even possible.? I have always been a "Dog Lover"......

Kelly wanted to call Her "Samantha" and I agreed. I still call Her by that name, But Her nickname is "Sammi Jo the Trucking Kitty" We also call her "KrazzyKitty" after My nickname, "KrazzyTrukker" and believe Me..... She will earn the crazy part later.

I did not know the first thing about how to raise a kitten, Kelly had raised our first 2 while i was gone for weeks at a time. Well Samantha decided i was the one that She wanted to raise her. I would drive down the road with Her in The basket next to me, She would let me know when she was hungry by nibbling & suckling my finger tips. I would pull over, Fill a small bottle with kitten milk, Put Her on My shoulder and gently squeeze the bottle as She gobbled it up.

Video Link :
https://d.tube/v/krazzytrukker/r42sbmx2

I would also put Her in a small corner litter box we had hastily made for the first trip. Litter box training had began, And I was very determined to get it right this time..!!

Kelly told me on the phone that She would not go pee on Her own. Momma kitty would lick the kittens behind to get them to pee when they are that little. Well I DID NOT lick Her behind, But i did have to rub her wee to make her pee, it sounds gross i know, but it was all part of the bond we formed. I would put Her in the litter box & not let Her out till She would go, That has paid off as She is 100% in the Box! One of my biggest fears was that She would be like our first 2 cats, Shadow & Squeekers, we had them from 1995 till 2011.(R.I.P.)

We had moved several times in their lives and did not do a good job with the litter boxes. They were 80% at best. Near the end of their lives they were even worse, They would go beside the litter box. And we did not clean them daily. I was Determined to do better with Samantha, I have 2 litter "Igloos" in the truck. They get cleaned at least one time every day, more if needed. It is a ritual every evening to make the litter boxes at home a place where they want to go to the bathroom. We go thru a LOT of LITTER, Arm & Hammer litter deodorizer too. One of the biggest mistakes cat owners make, is not flushing the cats toilet after they use it. Like scratching posts, you have to have many of them.

Chapter 3....... (Coming Soon)

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