PUNKY
by Loretta Mars
El Centro, California
U.S.A.

This is Punky's story. She is such a beautiful cat and how she came to live with my husband Neal and myself was certainly a different way to bring a stray cat home?

One warm sunny day last June/2007, a tiny, about a month old kitten 'hitched' a ride from Lowe's to our place in a most unusal fashion. She managed to ride on the spare tire bolted underneath my pick-up bed for five miles without me knowing she was even there. One to many bumps in the road, one wrong move on this tiny kittens part and her little life would have been over.
I discovered her after I was home when I investigated to find the source of the frightened mewing coming from under my truck.

She stayed on the spare tire most of that day, finally only coming out because she was so hungry and thirsty. Covered in fleas and very dirty, she experienced her first bath. Needless-to-say, the bath wasn't an enjoyable experience for her. What an introduction for her to what was to become her permanent home!!!

Once in the house, she explored every room, carefully checked out our beloved Lab/Basset cross dog "Rowdy" and "Barney", one of our older cats. Afer a day or so, she was strutting from room to room and was the center of everyone's attention. With her attitude, we decided to name her Punky. Part spunky and part pumpkin - which we now know has nothing to do with her coat color. We have since discovered that she is a member of the Tonkenese breed. Punky soon decided that my husband Neal is the greatest person in the world. Neal tries hard to claim he doesn't particularly like cats but Punky sleeps on his chest or near his side every night.

This sweet cat had a couple more LESS THAN FAVOURITE adventures with her trips to our Vet for a health check-up, all her necessary vaccinations and deworming. Plus of course, that all important Spaying which is so important for all our pets to prevent accidental pregnancies of unwanted kittens. Like her truck ride to our place and her first bath, she handled her trips to the Vet with "Feline Grace" as only a cat like Punky could do.