Things that go thump in the night

We don’t know where she came from.  We’d neither seen nor heard of her before her entrance.  Was she one of “er upstairs” cast offs?  Might have been.  At the time “er upstairs” was sporting a full tum as was her wont, and inclined to abandoning the previous litter to their fate, so she may have been discarded but I honestly have no idea.   A neighbour found her (knowing her, probably heard her first, she’s not backwards in coming forward where complaints are concerned) by the side of the road outside his house.  My neighbours are far too polite to say anything but I get the feeling they probably think of me as “that crazy English woman and her animals” so I suspect I was his first port of call when he found her.  He simply called my name and when I went out to greet him handed this little ball of fur over the gate.  

I took her and put her on my arm and to my amazement, she immediately leant back with her full weight, and began to purr.  Like she belonged. Not even slightly scared as you’d expect a wild kitten to be, but this one it turned out, isn’t a scaredy cat.  Vito who had followed me to the gate, sighed, raised his eyes to Heaven and walked back into the house.  Another sign she belonged, or maybe of Vito saving time by giving up before he had to give in.   She’s been with us ever since.

If you are wondering why I call her Thumper, that’s because you have never heard her make her way downstairs.  Delicate this one is not.  Where Chili and “er upstairs” could gyrate on a pinhead, or dance on a moon beam, this one  … thumps, and when she arrives there’s no mistaking she’s arrived. 

Sometimes at night, she jumps on the bed and throws herself (with real abandon) on my legs as though they belong to her and I’m just keeping them as a favour for her.  There’s nothing subtle about Thumper.  If she wants me to get up to feed her at 4 a.m., she just head bangs me, and I mean head bangs me!  A real full frontal attack guaranteed to make you start the day with a headache.  But she’s also an affectionate creature, and purrs like a steam engine as she nestles up to you for a cuddle.  She’s also tough.  Chili gave her hell for at least six months before she allowed her any peace at all (now they go everywhere together),

and she is a fierce defender of her territory.  Ask “er upstairs” who lives in terror of her and Chili.

No matter how nasty a passing stray is, she’s ready to see them off at a moment’s notice. 

She also, as you can see, grew up to be as beautiful as my other girls.