Our Christmas Mira-coal!

When Rock Star was in elementary school she fell in love with a little kitty our family adopted and named Coal. We would later learn that Rock Star is severely allergic to cats. Hmmm...could that be why she kept getting sick? Over the years Coal has always lived with Grammy & Pop. Obviously, Rock Star couldn't take him.

He is perhaps the grumpiest cat most folks have ever met. I'm not sure what made him this way. We always loved him and took good care of him. He sort of has a split personality disorder. One moment he is purring away on your lap, the next minute he turns around a bites you. Geez!

Well, Mr. Coal was recently relocated to Four Sisters Farm. We thought he would enjoy being here where he could run free and not be alone when Grammy & Pop traveled. It turns out that he hated that idea. He moved in at the end of November. We did not see him or hear him after the first night we got him. We were going to keep him safe in the garage at night (just like we do with Trigger and Ranger). When we couldn't find him for a few days we thought it wasn't a big deal. A few days turned into a few weeks which turned into a month. No one wanted to say it but we all figured Coal was a goner.

Fast forward to a few days after Christmas (now over a month since he had gone missing), Wubba and I headed out to the pole barn on a little walk. When all of a sudden we heard, "Mrrreeoow." It was Coal's signature grumpy meow. He started walking towards us. He let me pet him and seemed genuinely happy to see us. It just so happens that Pop & Grammy were staying here at the time. Pop was outside and got to see Coal...I know Pop has a love/hate, well mostly hate relationship with that cat but he actually seemed happy to see him too.

Grammy was gleeful when she heard the news and quickly called pretty princess to report that we had a Christmas MiraCOAL. (You will learn that Grammy loves cheesy jokes). That cat survived a wicked winter storm and near starvation. We have decided that perhaps he is too mean to die.

Whatever the reason, I'm glad he is still here. I have enjoyed spending time with him. I like to bring him his own bowl of food and water. He is pretty skinny, so like a good momma, I'm trying to fatten him up a little (I don't think we have Italian blood but man do I like to feed people like an Italian grandma). I am protective of Coal's food because I want to be sure he is getting enough. We have a little bit of a problem in this area...I am not going to mention any names but his initials are RANGER.
Look at him. He is on a mission. He wants to eat any juicy morsel Coal has left behind. The thing is he knows I don't want him eating that food. He has a food bowl along with the other cats in another area. You can't tell by the pics (they were from good angles) but Ranger is a hefty kitty cat. He outweighs his sister by a lot! The last time Pop was here he said, "that Ranger needs to find a salad."

Look at him trying to sneak away when I caught him red-handed!

Here he is all full and content. If he could speak he would say, "I love Coal's leftovers like a fat kid loves cake."