Fleur’s 4th Birthday

01/05/14: Our little princess Fleur is 4 years old today, and she has just popped put onto the balcony for her official photo. She is the cutest, prettiest little lady, with the softest fur, but she is also a very definite character with a lot of attitude. She is the least fond of our 2 galgos, and does not like strange people AT ALL, but she is very happy here with us, her husband Mori, and her big ‘brother’ Oscar. Recently she has become our ‘office’ cat. It is her favourite room to relax in, and where she mostly sleeps at night, when she is not playing or sunning herself. I know she will have a great day, because all her days are great. We have already had tuna, and little Fleur eats hers from her special plate away from the other cats. She IS our little princess. Happy birthday sweetheart!

Fleur is 4
Fleur is 4

17/06/13: Tonight I am remembering the night, 3 years ago, that little Fleur arrived in our home with her broken leg. She is sitting behind me in my office, fit and beautiful and healthy, thanks to the skill and care of my lovely vet Miguel.
30/04/13: Tomorrow beautiful little Fleur is 3 years old and we will be having Merluza as her special treat because unlike my other cats, Fleur does not like prawns. The love of her life is Mori, and her second best friend is Oscar. Chris and I are probably next in line, and sometimes she will play with Dusky and Kasper, and even say hello to Saidi. She is a little character, sweet, but also feisty and brave. I am VERY VERY happy that she is our cat. She is our little princess. Enjoy some recent photos. She is still a tiny, very pretty little girl.

Click on any the photos to view the complete gallery full size.

17/06/12: Today is the 2nd anniversary of Fleur coming into our lives. That evening at about 8pm, I was having a relaxing drink with friends, when a phone call came in that a baby kitten had been found in someone’s garden. I remember one of my friend’s saying that I should ‘leave it’ because I needed a break! I am so so happy that I didn’t, because little Fleur was in trouble with a broken leg and maybe could not have waited until the next day. She is a complete darling and is beautiful and very special. She is not very happy with and hides from strangers but she loves Chris and I, and our 4 other cats, and Mori most of all. Now that Dusky has grown into a big strapping fellow, she is very happy to be the smallest again! She is affectionate and funny, and full of attitude. We loved her from the start.

Fleur This Week

Fleur This Week

01/05/11 PM: Fleur, our birthday girl is now sleeping. She has had fish with her buddies, extra treats, cuddled, rushed around, and played with her special present.
So far it has been a fun but tiring day for our little girl!


Fleur’s First Birthday


Fleur’s First Birthday


Fleur’s First Birthday


Fleur’s First Birthday


Fleur’s First Birthday


Fleur’s First Birthday

01/05/11 AM: Fleur is one year old today, and she really is our little princess!

She is a tiny but VERY pretty little girl, full of personality, loving & feisty, and the happiest, sweetest little cat, anyone could wish for. She loves her life here with us, Mori, Oscar and Saidi, and Chris and I are very happy we decided to keep her. It was never really in doubt from the moment she looked at us with her huge eyes.

Mori our oldest boy cat has always been Fleur’s protector, and the one she snuggles up to most. He looked after her from the beginning. Oscar our younger boy is more her playmate, but he is not adverse to a cuddle with her either. Both love their little girlfriend, and even Saidie, our stroppy ex-Mama cat seems quite fond of her! She is one little charmer.

The story of how she came to us is below, but enjoy some recent photos of our grown up girl on our roof terrace, and enjoying cuddles with her 2 adoring boys!!!

AND watch out for her birthday photos later!


With Mori


With Mori


With Mori


With Oscar


With Oscar


With Her Boys


With Her Boys


With Her Boys


Grown Up Fleur


Grown Up Fleur


Grown Up Fleur


Grown Up Fleur

Fleur’s Story
Friday Morning July 2nd:

Yesterday afternoon I had a slight panic. I was cuddling and playing ball with Fleur on the sofa, and she rolled over and came back up with her pin completely out!

Obviously Chris didn’t want to try putting it back in, so we had a quick dash to Miguel’s clinic in Almeria for what we thought was an re-insert. On examining Fleur, however, he told us her bone had basically healed. He will take an X-ray in a couple of weeks but she was good to go without her pin.

This was a little weird as he had said she may need it for up to 4 weeks, but apparently the first 10 days are the most important, and as long as she doesn’t overdo things all should be fine. SO from slight panic to great news, and Fleur has definitely been celebrating.

From the minute we returned home she has been partying with new buddies Mori and Oscar, who have been taking it in turns to follow her around and watch over her. She has explored just about every corner of our apartment, and is loving her new freedom, and the fact that she no longer has a big pin sticking out of her side.

It is hard to stop her overdoing things, as she just wants to be a kitten and has been rushing around and jumping on and off the furniture. We will trust Miguel’s assessment, and that her little leg with hold and get slowly stronger. She noticeably limps but is definitely putting weight on her bad leg, and doesn’t seem in any discomfort. We are relieved and very happy for her!

Wednesday Morning June 30th

It is now 10am and Fleur has been mainly playing since just after 6am! I am hoping that she is now feeling as sleepy as me, and will be happy to rest her leg. We have already adjusted her pin about 5 times, and are slightly worried that the opening in her skin is becoming a little infected.

We have however all had great fun. After a couple of hours bounding around the bed, eating breakfast and enjoying Oscar’s tunnel (Fleur not me), we have enjoyed an hour up on the roof with the big boys.

Aided by a towel and some leather strips, Fleur has been stalking and playing with Mori and Oscar, retreating occasionally to my lap when she got a little overawed, like when Oscar gave her a couple of friendly (I think!), biffs on the head.

Now she is back in her box for a while, and we humans will have breakfast and get some stuff done until the next play session.

Tuesday Evening June 29th

It is now 2 weeks since I rescued Fleur, frightened, hungry and injured, and now she is happy, confident and full of life. It is becoming harder and harder to keep her movement contained to protect her pinned broken leg. All she knows is that she now has 4 legs that will support her, and she wants to rock!

I noticed this morning that she was eating her breakfast standing up instead of sitting leaning over the bowl. She is also less clingy and much more inclined to want to chose her space, particularly when doing her cleaning, which she now does a lot of, a very good sign of a happy cat. She still loves to cuddle, and yesterday climbed back onto my chest to sleep, but she no longer purrs gratefully as soon as we start to stroke her. It takes a little longer to get her going, as she has started to take safety and love more for granted, another good sign.

Every time she sees my big cat Mori, she rushes towards him to say hello. He was sweet to her from the start, and she SO wants to be with him. Mori for his part has accepted her totally, but I think doesn’t quite see the point of her yet, as we can’t set her free to play with him until her leg is healed. Oscar, our younger, more nervous boy, has stopped hissing at her and running away and I’m sure will eventually play too, and mummy cat Saidi has at least got as far as a nose tap before leaving the room!

Because of Fleur’s injury, she has had a very slow introduction to our cats, starting with them sniffing her cage, which has worked well. We will continue to foster her until at least her leg treatment is finished, and I hope, if my cats are fine with her, for longer.

Today she has had the last of her antibiotics, and all seems fine, apart from the ongoing problem with her slipping pin. We are now looking towards her first check-up X-ray with Miguel on Monday, and very much hoping for good news.

Monday Evening June 28th

Today Fleur’s leg was check over by Miguel and all seems to be doing well. He was able to take out her stitches. This was all more for my reassurance as we have been having such problems with her pin slipping.

She will have an X-ray at Miguel’s clinic on Monday and then we will really know how well her bone is healing.

In the meantime she seems very happy, and with the onset of more heat this afternoon, thankfully less active, for the now anyway. I am hoping for some better nights sleep.

Sunday Morning June 27th

Fleur is now sleeping in her box, having kept us awake for a large part of the night because she did not want to be in her box! I actually don’t blame her, particularly as she doesn’t understand the need for this containment, and just wants to cuddle and play.

We ultimately resorted to a middle of the night feed of apparently scrummy wet food, after which she did go to sleep. Is this what having a small baby is like?

Saturday Evening June 26th

Wow Fleur is a plucky little girl. Today she has pulled herself from the seat to the top of the sofa using the throw and all 4 legs, and later, when I blinked for a couple of seconds, she jumped off the arm off the sofa 2 feet to the ground.

The last one scared me, but she seemed fine, so the pin is obviously holding everything together. Looking after this little one is one of the most time-consuming, but I have to say also rewarding things I have undertaken. I can’t wait for her leg to be healed so that she can explore and play properly.

Saturday June 26th

Fleur is currently sleeping in a big blue dog box, smaller than the original cage but safer for her. She has spent the last 2 nights in this new box, as it seems to be the only place where we can leave her confident that she cannot do anything to loosen her pin.

Every time she starts to move around, and jump and run, the pin starts to work its way out. This is fine if we are watching her and ready to gently push it back in, but dangerous if it comes out too much, and potentially loses contact with one part of her broken bone.

Yesterday we played a lot with her, but on our laps with balls and feathers, as this seems a better option at this early stage.

Overall she seems quite happy and very loving. Mori has accepted her completely, and gives her licks and kisses every day, Oscar has slowly got closer, and I think will be happy to play once she is more active. We will have to watch him though, as gentle though he is as a personality, he is very big, and has already almost knocked her out by shooting a paw out of a box at her. Saidi meanwhile is staying clear but doesn’t seem overly concerned about our little visitor.

We will have a quiet weekend with her and I hope for good news when we visit vet Miguel on Monday, that everything is as it should be, despite the moving pin.


Beautiful Little Fleur

Thursday June 24th

Fleur is getting more playful every day, the swelling in her bad leg has almost completely gone, and she is growing in confidence. Unlike a human with a similar injury she has no fear, in fact it is Chris and I who are doing the worrying for her.

As she moves around more, the pin keeps working itself out of her leg, and several times a day now, Chris is having to push it gently back in. Miguel our vet has been great in responding quickly to emails and messages. I spoke to him today, and he said that as long as we CAN push it back in, then it is fine. That’s great but I think this is going to be a long 4 weeks for us.

Today we have removed anything that we think she can injure herself on from my study, and from tomorrow we are going to give her the run of the room. She needs this as this afternoon I had to remove her from the wire 18in up the inside of her big cage! She was presumably trying to climb out after I had ignored her yells. This is one very alive and determined little kitten character!

Wednesday June 23rd

It is now 2 days since little Fleur’s operation and she is doing brilliantly. This morning, as you can see from these latest photos, I let her down on the floor to play ball, watched closely by big Mori.

Yesterday she was a little quieter, I think after the stress of the day before, but by the evening she was playing in our laps again, and then wanted to move around more. Her injured leg is quite swollen, but she is starting to put weight on it, and put her paw flat as normal, which is a very good sign.

Obviously we are being very careful with her, and making sure that she can’t hurt herself, but vet Miguel did tell us to let her live normally, so that within reason is what we will slowly try to do.

We are a little worried about her pin as it keeps slipping out by up to 1/2cm. It is important it doesn’t slip more as the lower part of her broken femur may then lose contact with the pin, which is keeping it aligned. I was in contact with Miguel yesterday and he has said that we can gently push it back in which sounds aweful, but is actually quite easy, and doesn’t hurt her.

The large plastic tip ensures that it can’t go too far in, so we are understanding better and getting more confident at managing this. We may take her back to Miguel tomorrow, more for reassurance, as we are a little concerned that it is moving quite so freely in and out.

Meanwhile, the girls in Germany have publicised her story on their Facebook account and had a big response. Everybody seems to love our little girl, and several people are already offering her a home, even without knowing if her leg will heal properly.

This is all very kind, but she will stay with Chris and I until her treatment is over, at which time we will make decisions about her future and, depending on how things turn out, what is the best home for her. She is welcome here. Mori has accepted her, Oscar is has let her get within a foot of him but remains wary, and Saidi has only just realised that she is here!

For now she is a cheeky, playful, loving little girl and we are happy to have her, and so wanting to do everything we can to help her get better.


Fleur Playing Ball


Mori Watching Fleur

Monday June 21st

Today little Fleur, featured in my last post, has had an operation on her leg, to pin her broken femur. Miguel is hopeful that it will mend well, and she can apparently now put weight on it and have a ‘normal life’.

It does however look pretty serious as you can see from the photos. She will have another X-ray in 2 weeks, and if all looks well, in a further 2 weeks she should be able to have the pin removed.

Miguel like me, thinks she must have been thrown into the walled garden where I found her, as this would explain her injury. He was brilliant with her, said she was a lovely patient, who didn’t fight him at all, and did the whole thing at cost for me. Thank you Miguel.

Chris and I have decided to foster this plucky, lovable little girl at least until we know her leg has healed. She has antibiotics, pain-killers, and homeopathic medicines for the next 10 days, but has come through her ordeal remarkably well. Since getting home she has eaten several times, used her litter tray, and wanted to play and snuggle. We are both feeling very protective and proud of her, and Mori, our big male cat, continues to blow her kisses!

I am amazed by the resilience of this tiny kitten, and her zest for life, and am so pleased that I was given the opportunity to rescue her and help her.


Fleur After Her Operation


Fleur’s Horrible Pin

3 thoughts on “Fleur’s 4th Birthday

  1. MaPu

    Happy anniversary little Fleur….
    you are so a little pretty Lady
    and you have much luck that you have found a wonderful home
    with lovely “parents” und funny lovely cat friends

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