Meet Marcie – Part Two

Slowly but surely, our remodel started taking shape, and we were able to make the move into our first house. The long hours finally paid off, and Marcie was always there to greet us, keep us company while we worked and put a smile on my face.

Time went by, and a little over three years later, we were over the moon with joy to welcome our first daughter! Marcie loved sitting next to Aviah in her stroller, curling up on the couch by her and watching her as we sat out in the yard and played.

I often took Aviah for walks in her stroller — we loved going for walks together, and as the post office was only one block away, we could easily walk there two or three times during the week. Marcie always wanted to go with us, but I was apprehensive of her crossing the street. If I didn’t take her back home, she somehow knew how to hide and swiftly catch up to us.

One beautiful, sunny afternoon while waiting in line at the post office, I could hear soft meows and as the door would open, the meows became louder and more urgent. Marcie seemed to be calling us, and as I turned my head around and smiled, customers would inquire if that was my cat. Why yes it is! When we returned outdoors, Marcie had a mixed expression of relief to see us and pure delight at all the attention she was receiving from most everyone who passed by her.

Time went by and again, we were over the moon with joy to welcome our second daughter. Marcie has always loved the girls, and her desire to join us on family walks continued as we made our move to the country. With the exception of cold winter days, if the girls are headed outdoors to play, Marcie will watch them from the window, then head straight to the door to go out with them.

Although I wondered how Marcie would react to seven chickens and numerous rabbits joining the family, I had the feeling she would do fine. She has always had a very calm, loving disposition and only seems irritated if another cat roams through the yard. She would watch the young chicks in their brooder like a mother hen, and enjoys the company of a bunny as long as the he/she doesn’t become too rambunctious. In the photo below, Marcie reached her paw out to Cashmere, and the two of them sat contentedly for over an hour.

In two months, our sweet little Marcie will be turning 15 years old. We’re overjoyed that she is still extremely healthy at her age and enjoying country life with us. These days she moves around a little slower, and it takes some time for her to climb up in her favorite apple tree, but she can still be as playful as the little kitten we once found so long ago.

Meet Marcie – Part One

It has dawned on me that I’ve introduced you to our chickens and rabbits, but haven’t properly introduced you to our sweet tabby cat, Marcie.

You simply must meet Marcie — she is part of the family and a true friend who has been by our sides for nearly fifteen years! I know I’m partial, but she is seriously one of the sweetest cats I have ever known, and she came to us as such a sweet blessing during a particularly stressful time.

Many years ago,  Jonathan and I purchased our first home — a 100-year-old historical house in the center of town. We were in our “new home owner bliss” phase — how wonderful and exciting it will be to work on our home! It certainly was, however, it was also much more than we had prepared for!

A few minor repairs and touch-ups such as coats of paint, tearing out the old carpeting to restore the original hardwood flooring, (how hard could that possibly be under seven or eight very old layers of carpet and linoleum?), new curtains, some updated light fixtures and of course a charming new doorbell, and it would be as good as new! *sigh*

Reality set in quickly. Probably within the week? The whole house experience could be a book all by itself. I could make a very long list of all that needed to be done before we could actually live there (namely a bare-wire electrical system and no insulation), but I don’t want to come across as complaining. It was definitely a learning experience, and after an arduous amount of hard work, we had a lovely little home. Jonathan and I spent most (all) of our free time working on the house, and because we did not have a large budget, Jonathan and my Dad did all of the major repairs.

So what does Marcie have to do with all of this?

On one particular day, I was with Jonathan at the house feeling slightly overwhelmed. Did I say slightly? That was a typo. It should read extremely. Feeling emotionally drained, I sat down in the living room on a small chair.

I began to hear the faintest sounds and almost immediately knew I was hearing a kitten! But where? I called for Jonathan, and we realized the soft little me-ews were coming from under the house. We went outside, and Jonathan heroically crawled under the house to rescue the teeny, tiny tabby. Jonathan had a flashlight with him, and as he crawled towards Marcie, he often recalls how she crawled towards the light.

We are quite sure she was the runt of the litter, and being so little, she needed to be bottle-fed often. But now with our frequent visits to the house, we had a new member of the family to greet us, cheer us and start making our house feel like a home.

… to be continued!