Little Min-min turned up on our doorstep one morning, desperately ill, starving and absolutely covered with fleas and ticks and . . . man what a mess she was. Funny thing is, all she seemed to want was to be picked up and paid attention to. After a very much needed bath and lots of food and clean water, it was off to the vet for a check-up and to be spayed, then back home for a good two months to recover her strength and to allow her natural beauty to come back from where it had been hiding.

We had other sick cats at the time, so Min-min ended up going to live with a cat-lady friend of ours, who sends us regular updates on her progress, along with lovely photographs of her.

For anyone thinking of getting a cat companion, or wondering if they should rescue that smelly, sick-looking cat that keeps hanging around mooching for food, I have no hesitation in saying DO IT. Until you’ve experienced the wonder of a lost animal coming back into the world all healed, well, you’ll see what I mean. They ask for nothing and give back more than you’ll ever need.

A drawing of Min-min from a photograph

Evil eyes, but really super sweet

She was very rough around the edges at first

Paying attention to the conversation

Min-min’s absolutely favorite position

She was so malnourished that her whiskers broke off!

Getting prettier every day

Looking beautiful

Recovering from mange

Still way too skinny

She was such a tiny little thing

Sleeping in safety after who knows how long

Playing ‘kill the box’!

Sometimes she looked too serious . . .

. . . and sometimes she was just a goofball.

Those eyes!

Having a rest after play

About half-way throught the fattening-up process

Super model Min-min

Those eyes again!

Playing ‘attack the leg under the desk’, a perenial favorite of hers

. . . and then she was introduced to catnip!

Which piece of newspaper to attack first?

Legs like matchsticks, but getting better every day

Having a rest on the cat tower

Watching the birds outside from her perch on the cat tower

About ready for the next round of the ‘attack whatever moves’ game

In a more pensive mood

In all her glory, well on the road to recovery

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