Ever Thankful

Can I tell you what it's like to be the king of the castle? Well it’s not one of those menacing stone creations sitting upon a hilltop; it is just your average home in a nice area of suburbia. I like it, it’s my first one and I can do anything in it I want to.

I, however, have to share it with my three siblings, one brother and two sisters. I am not the oldest, but I am the biggest, so in my mind, I rule! I can be bossy and I do tend to push them around, but hey, give me an inch and I’ll take a mile! I am an instigator and I don’t hesitate to stir up trouble between the four of us. If the others are all playing nicely, I have to barge in, cause chaos and remove myself from the mess as fast as I created it. Sometimes so fast, my siblings don’t know what hit them, as they look at one another, heads tilted in bewilderment. Then Dad walks in and bellows my name. I know the fun is over, for now!

Yes I know, I said I was the king of my castle. But even a king has to have people who look out for him or offer guidance in important matters, plus dad makes the money to keep us happy! When you’re young, you need someone to care for you and dad does quite well. He and Mom always make sure we never need for anything, spoiling us since they took us off the streets many years ago. Perhaps that is why I am the way I am. Being homeless you have to learn to survive, be cunning and become Mr. Bad-ass. On the streets no one has your back but you and old habits die hard.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a nasty brat, just a brat! I have a tendency to stir up trouble, all in fun, I swear! My siblings and I were abandoned young and we all have developed flaws, none of us are perfect. Our youngest sister suffers from what something Mom once called ocd. Okay, I don’t know what that is but I figure if you need to abbreviate it, it can’t be a good thing.  I never see sis act strangely, except that she is always doing something with her hair, like she is never satisfied with it. The oldest sister has interaction problems. When people come to visit, she hauls off to her room, at record speeds, and won’t come out until they leave. Then we have the elder of the bunch, who is the attention grabber. He has Dad wrapped around his finger.

In a way I guess we have both of them that way to a degree. We play all day with the abundance of toys they shower upon us. Every room you enter has its own stash and usually by the end of playtime we have all of them scattered everywhere. Dad normally ends up stepping on one or two of them, especially during his late night trips to the kitchen. Instead of getting upset, we only hear him mumble as he places the toys back to their rightful place.

Have I mentioned we even have our own furniture and beds? I know this may not be exciting to you, but when you have spent many a night sleeping outdoors, on the cold, wet ground, I’ll tell you it is a piece of heaven! I don’t think the novelty of having this luxury will ever wear off. Our parents spared no expense to keep us comfortable and cozy and I must admit all four of us take full advantage of it.

Just the other day a man came to the door with a huge box, and of course older sister took off, but after the unfamiliar voice was gone and she heard our excitement, she came down to find a strange new contraption set up near the living room window. Mom was sitting on the sofa waiting to see our reaction and of course older brother had to be the first to check it out. It seems if it doesn’t spook him, then it has the seal of approval by sister one and two! I myself always seem aloof at first. I just sit back waiting to see if my siblings will make absolute fools of themselves! Mom said it was a jungle gym designed just for us so it didn’t take long for me to become said fool and climb up, joining in the fun.

So as you can see, once homeless, we are now happy and content. Mom and Dad are always saying nice things to us and lavish us with attention. I guess after such a rough start, we never could have imagined our lives turning out this way. Four separate lives were brought together through love and compassion and a lot of patience and understanding. There is a common saying in the castle; “if you want the best seat in the house, you have to move a cat!”

Dedicated to all of you who have opened up your homes and hearts to homeless animals, especially to the many kittens and cats left to roam the streets. If Diesel could talk, this would be his story!

Cat w/Ocd = Boots, she has an obsessive grooming disorder.
Cat w/Interaction issues = Spooky, she spooks easily.
Elder cat = Patches, first one brought in to our home.
Narrator = Diesel, Mr big and bad.

Since writing this story, we have taken in two more kittens, siblings of a brother and sister. Please stay tuned for their story

Word Count: 948

** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **