Sweet Cookie In Between
The Story Behind The Photograph.
Foreword (Which is longer than the story behind the photograph)
Cookie was born in May 2023. Quite a character. No surprise - all cats are. He’s also a professional wanderer. At just 11 months old, this rascal can cover a staggering 11 kilometres in a single day! More than many people do in a year. And yes, he has a GPS tracker to keep us on the edge. However, despite his super wandering skills, Cookie is not a pro at climbing, as the following story will reveal. Cookie also seems to believe he's a flying squirrel. This cat specialises in leaping before looking, showing no regard whatsoever for the heights or the safety of his landing spots.
When Cookie was just two months old, he jumped and broke both his hind legs. The X-rays showed transparent bones—severe calcium deficiency at its best. Nasty stuff. No one could pinpoint what was wrong since the X-rays failed to reveal the fractures. However, I was certain his bones were broken. I knew it. I just knew. A special vitamin-rich supplements and crushed eggshell powder helped. It took nearly three months before Cookie eventually began to walk again. Once he regained his mobility, there was no stopping him. He became quite the traveler. Perhaps I should have named him Columbus… or Magellan.
Before I dive into the story, I want to thank everyone at Castlebar Animal Hospital - Ronan, Niall, and all the amazing staff for their incredible care and support they've provided. They have been caring for all our strays for years, and words cannot express our gratitude. Also, immense thanks to Loretta from Ballinrobe Vet clinic. She was there for Cookie at 2 am on a Sunday night. Loretta truly is an angel. Thank you all so much.
Now, the short story behind the photograph begins.
On a stormy, rainy, and super chilly night, this guy (Cookie) ended up spending a few hours up a tree. Looks like he ran into a fox and decided the best escape was to head upwards, where he found a bit of safety. He had this tractive GPS tracker on him, which honestly, hardly ever worked like it's supposed to (its performance has been improved since though). But, that night, somehow it managed to connect to the GPS for a bit (maybe being up high in the tree got it closer to those satellites circling Earth). We eventually spotted him, clinging to a branch way off the ground. To get him down, I had to grab a ladder, stretch it out as far as it would go (about 4.5 - 5 metres), and even then, I was quite a bit short. That's when Ninja, our black cat, joined the rescue mission. He started meowing like crazy, non-stop, and that got Cookie to start inching his way down. Would pay dearly to know what Ninja said to Cookie. He got just close enough for me to grab him. The little guy was still pretty spooked for an hour or so after that. No telling what freaked him out enough to make him climb that tree, but it must have been something wild. I’d say a fox, as Cookie also does fox-watching.
I took this photograph (with Olympus M1 on Ilford FP4 Plus) about half an hour after we got Cookie back, when he climbed up on my shelf, all ready for a nap.
