Frankie Weiss and Her Magic

Chapter One: Love at First Sight

In the very next cage, alongside of Frankie, was my second choice, a striped black and silver Tabby that retreated to the rear of the cage as I approached. Also a female; she was about the same age as Frankie, five months old. For some unexplainable reason this Tabby was frightened of any human approaching her cage. The striped face, white neckline, white chest and lithe trim body made for a pretty feline. Her eye coloring was the same as Frankie’s. The paws were white, the left front one flecked with a touch of gray. I was sure I had found my companion cat to Frankie. She was afraid of me, but in my heart I knew that would change. Cats are social animals; they need the closeness and companionship of other species, be it another feline, dog, human, or other animals. I take it for granted that we have all read or heard of the many strange friendships and closeness among animals that have little in common, this does include the feline, the domestic cat of all descriptions, being pedigreed or the so-called alley cat.

I have read books suggesting a cat may think of me, a human being, as its mother. It may have a lot to do with imprinting, take the duck, the tiger, (normally a predator), raise it from birth; it will think you are its mother. I’m not surprised by my adopted cats’ reactions regarding that thought. Later in this story, you’ll read about the unrestricted love these felines give me, and my response in a like manner. I would learn to be a parent totally devoted to the future of these two furry animals, as my newly adopted children.

When telling the attendant I wanted the two half-grown cats in the first two cages, she was taken aback, no one in all the years of the Marlton Animal Hospital had refused to look at the other cages filled with cats ready for adoption. It was a Marlton first!

As for the striped, scared Tabby, I named her Johnnie. Even though both cats were female, I was thinking about the famous song and movie and the love affair between Frankie and Johnny and their heterosexual relationship that ended in a killing. I wanted my newly adopted “children” to love one another and to love me. My wish and hope was more than fulfilled! And, since Frankie ended in “ie” I wanted the same for Johnnie, not spelled (Johnny). Giving her a female sounding name by spelling it “Johnnie” fit the bill as well as her gender. I really wanted this little scared Tabby; she was a beauty.

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