Posted on 07/10/2004 4:11:22 PM PDT by balrog666
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - When Maggie Rogers spotted something bobbing in the water three miles into the Gulf of Mexico while on a scalloping trip with friends, she assumed it was a turtle, or a piece of sea kelp.
But as the boat got closer and slowed down, she found it was a tiny, apricot-colored kitten. Nine inches long and screaming at the top of its lungs, the cat was paddling furiously.
"We scooped him up and he sat on the boat with me for eight hours," said Rogers, who is the finance director at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.
"He was exhausted and stressed," Rogers said. "His heart rate was high."
The boaters on the 17-foot Scout Current Drift did not know how the kitten arrived in the Homosassa Bay. There were at least 40 boats in the crowded area where he was found, they said.
On Tuesday, three days after he was found, a veterinarian found the 10-week-old, 1-pound kitten had worms, but was otherwise healthy.
He was adopted by Rogers' sister-in-law - and named Nemo.
Homosassa Bay is about 45 miles northwest of Tampa.
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Information from: St. Petersburg Times, http://www.sptimes.com
Ping for your interest.
OHhhh....................
Looks like he was out hunting Tuna.
Great Great Story! I love Kitties....My cat Zorro is King at my house...
Sounds like some irresponsible pet owner gave their cat the heave. I hate people like that. Because of their ilk, my household has three cats.
I love the story and the name, Nemo. Perfect.
We had a blue russian who disappeared in February. We're reasonably sure that our neighborhood barn owl ran out of mice and ground squirrels during a cold spell and swooped down and picked up our cat off a car top where he loved to sit. That's the bad news. The good news is, Chewy's last thought was, "I CAN FLY!"
Oh, and we have another blue russian named Gracie who is wonderful. We'll keep her inside at least at night.
Check out my profile. Spork has just started playing at being the alpha cat at my house. The others are indulging her for the moment.
I need to tie the sack better and use more weight.
I know the feeling, because of irresponsible (???) people, I am owned by three house cats and nine outside cats. Fortunately, a local program here will spay/neuter feral cats for a minimum fee if I trap them. I think they put out the word though, sort of like hobos - new ones keep showing up every other month or so.
My condolences. We had a hawk around here that was picking up Chihuahuas and the like for a while until one lady held onto her leash and then hit it with her purse (more like luggage).
Oh NO !
She was trying for the distance record...and now she has to start all over again.
It was already won by a kitten without worms, so this is a new category.
BTW...her name is Bernice, and she's older than she looks.
" The good news is, Chewy's last thought was, "I CAN FLY!"
Maybe Chewy wasn't the best name you could have chosen. The owl may have taken it as a command.
No kidding. The cat's very lucky the bonita weren't feeding on top.
Probably enabled him to fish for his own food during the ordeal.
Wow! Another kitten in the Gulf of Mexico. What is it now, six in the past two days?
Zorro likes to sit on the top of the computer monitor, I think because of the haet that comes out of the top, anyways his tail is always in the way when I am trying to see what I'm typing....They do seem to be computer saavy these days!
ditto...only six at our house...
I have 7. People drop them off in my barn.
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