The Dazzler

'Tailer', as he was known when we picked him up, was a real treasure. He had been found in a park by a Council Ranger, with an injury to his tail. He can't have been much more than four weeks old, and ended out losing approximately 1/3rd of his tail, and was pretty miserable. How his tail was injured is a bit of a mystery, but I think it likely that he was somehow caught in something hot, like a car engine. He may also have been in a fire, as he was very grubby, and had a lot of what looked like tiny burnt wood fragments caught in his fur.

'Tailer's' introduction to our home was also fairly rough. He needed a really good wash, and had 3 baths before I was satisfied he was clean. Once clean, he did seem happier, which made me feel a little less of a sadist! We decided to re-name him, to try and take the focus off his injury, and more on him. We settled on Bob, as he was a bob-tailed kitten. As we got to know him and his superstar personality, this morphed into Bobby Dazzler, a name that he wore well. The re-naming seemed to have an impact on him, too. Bobby stopped seeming so fragile, and his strength and spirit began to shine brightly.



For a kitten who had been found tiny, lost, alone and injured, Bobby was an incredibly trusting little boy. He loved people, and he loved our cats. He just adored climbing into a lap, purring with pleasure while he made biscuits. He would follow Fui around, copying his every move. Fui revelled in the attention. It was such a cute sight to see Fui cleaning his face with his paws, with Bob copying him with tiny paws. No action was too small to observe. Fui eating was of particular interest, and Bobby would leopard crawl as close as he could for a birds eye view.


We did have one worrying timewhen Bobby developed an infection on the end of his tail, where he had been injured. He developed a bit of an abscess, which ruptured and was quite unpleasant, especially for him. He was given IV antibiotics at the shelter, and was then on a 10 day course of oral antibiotics. The poor little mite was not a fan of the tablets, and learned all the terrible tricks that our Suey has mastered, holding the pill in his mouth until we were certain it had been swallowed, then spitting it across the room. Thankfully, he had a good recovery, and was back to his dastardly old self in no time.



Bobby was very excited to have a playmate his own age when we looked after the kitten of a friend, a little girl named Missy. The two had great fun racing around, tackling each other and generally never giving each other a moment of peace. It was great for Bobby, giving him such a workout. He loved his little playmate, and spent considerable time looking for her when it was time for Missy to go home.




Bob grew so fast! In no time, we had a little boy ready to go back to the shelter for desexing and adoption. That moment came much too soon for the two human beans and Fui. Suey wasn't too fussed, though! He truly was such a delight, and the first foster to draw tears from me on his return to the shelter. Our baby Bobby Dazzler found his forever home. I hope his family know how lucky they are to have secured themselves such a gem!

The growth of Bobby Dazzler, the softest. kitten. EVER! People pay lots to get their hair feeling as soft as this little ball of fluff. It was glorious!