Music selection is "Free"
A gentle tune like Shadow

"Shadow's Place"

You came! That makes me so happy. My mom said someone might stop by. Thanks so much for coming. Since I turned 7 years old in May my mom said I could have this page. She says that in just 7 years a lot has happened to me.

First you're probably thinking that Shadow is a weird name for a black and white cat, but when I was born mom says I was a pretty silvery grey color. As I got older she watched the black move down over my head, then my back and finally my tail. What resulted is the black and white you see now. Cool huh?

My human mom first saw me when I was just 1 hour old. She fell in love with me and said I could go live with her when I was ready. So, when I was old enough I went to live with her and she adopted another kitty so I'd have a brother. He was a month older than me. His name was Scooter and we grew up together.

We all moved to the country but Scooter and I never went far from home. We had so much fun chasing squirrels, moles and leaves that blew around. All except for a nasty little dog who lived next door, who would come over and chase us!

One day that stupid dog chased me up a tree and I couldn't get back down. Mom finally saw where I was, but she couldn't get up to help me. So I stayed up there all day until my dad finally got home from work and climbed up to rescue me. I was so scared! And hungry! Well after that experience I decided that no dog would do that to me again. Heehee, the next time that old dog came over to chase me he got a big surprise! I went running after him, swinging my claws at him and guess what? I chased him all the way back to his house! He was afraid of me and never bothered me again. After that any dog that came near my house I'd stand right up to them, and they'd leave us alone.

Then one day I lost Scooter. He went out to play and never came home! Mom looked all over for him with no luck. She even left the door open in case he came back, but he didn't. Mom cried a lot cause she really missed him and didn't know what happened to him. I tried to comfort her and snuggled with her a lot. I missed him a lot too.

Everything settled down again for a few months, then I got hurt. I was out and went too far from home. That's when it happened! I heard a loud noise, then suddenly felt bad pain in my leg and I was bleeding! Instead of running farther away from home, I knew I could get help there, so I crawled home. I was so scared and it really hurt bad! I finally got into my house, went under the kitchen table and cried for help. Mom wasn't home, but dad heard me and when he found me there was lots of blood around me. He ran and got a basket, put a towel in it, then carefully picked me up and laid me in it. Then he took me to the kitty hospital and told the doctor to help me. I was crying the whole time. Then he left to call my mom and go get her. He thought I might have had a fight with a dog.

When dad finally came back with my mom I was feeling real funny cause the doctor gave me a needle, but I could see my mom was real upset and had been crying. They told the doctor to do whatever it took to help me get better. They were told they could come back and get me the next day. Ihad an operation on my leg! When they came back the next day was when they were told it wasn't a dog that hurt me, but a bullet! The doctor said my kneecap had been shattered. She cleaned out all the bone pieces and also pieces of metal from the bullet. Hey, I had a cast on my leg! But she said I could go home and would be all right. My mom was so happy and so was I.

That's when mom and I became closer than ever. She looked after me and helped me do everything, cause I had a hard time even standing up with that stupid cast on. After my cast thing came off she wanted to do physiotherapy on my leg too, and I would only let her do it. I'd scratch anyone else who tried. Mom would slowly stretch my leg out and then slowly bend it back in. It hurt but I just knew somehow my mom was helping me, so I let her do it.

Guess what? When I went back in 6 weeks for my checkup, the doctor was so surprised! I was walking with hardly a limp at all and she said that in time you might not know I was ever hurt! That even the limp might be gone. She told my mom that it was a good idea that she did the therapy on my leg! I knew mom was doing it for a reason.

Well the doctor was right! Mom worked on my leg for another 2 weeks and today I don't even have a limp at all! My family and I moved to a new city eventually and got me a new brother too. His name is Smokey and he's a little pest, but I really do love him. I even washed him when he was a baby and put him in his place when pesters me too much. We're both indoor cats and very happy. Smokey doesn't know all the bad things that can happen outdoors but that's OK. I know we're safe and I look after him. We do get to got outside sometimes though cause mom takes us camping with her! We just love to go camping and when we see mom getting our leashes and harnesses we know we're going! It's safe and we have lots of fun there.

My favorite thing to do now is when my mom sits down, I jump on her lap for a snuggle and a nap. I just love to be snuggled and talked to and that's what she does. I guess I got to go now. Mom says I had the computer long enough now. Bye now and thanks for stopping by!

This one's from me for Scooter

Oh, before you leave I just want to tell you that I'm a Hero, and I have a "Champion Award" that I'm giving to all pets to display on their site, who like me has survived an injury or accident and lived to tell the tale. Check out the link for details on how to apply for this award.

Updated July 1999
Saffire's "House of Cats" © May 1999.