Miss Aurora Katrina's sweet feet on Toesy Tuesday

The lovely, poofy, soft as silk polydactyl (Hemingway) toes of Miss Aurora Katrina.

Aurora was my first kitty. My rescued kitty. The kitty who brought me into the wonderful world of felines with her gentle nature and rhythmic purr.

A friend of mine operated a feline rescue for several years. During that time I took no interest in what she was doing because I had absolutely no interest whatsoever in cats. All of that changed one day when she asked for my help with a rescue. She was busy with other shelter business but a kitten needed help. Not wanting to refuse to rescue (something I did with dogs all the time) I told her that I would pick up the kitten. A bitty life that was tossed out of a moving vehicle on a Saturday morning in a downpour - landing in the grass with a broken leg. The owners of the property made the call to rescue when they saw a truck speed away and soon heard the plaintive cries of a tiny kitten. They placed the little bit in a box, added a bath towel and waited for me to arrive.

After the call from my friend, off I went to an address in the country. I intended to take the kitten to our local veterinarian for medical care and then to drop it off at the shelter. I would go home, let the dogs out to potty, bring them in and settle in with a good book. The kitten would be nothing but a memory.

When I arrived and looked into the box handed to me, my heart broke and was lost forever. There was this little soul with a hurt leg, full of fleas and nothing but skin and bones. She looked up at me with her golden eyes and I looked down at her. From that moment on she was mine and I was hers. I named her Aurora because I thought she was so beautiful, even with the fleas. She also brought with her the biggest feet with little thumbs jutting out the side of each paw. She was a Hemingway cat - a polydactyl - I learned later.

Aurora turned nine years old this summer. She has taught me how special it is to be blessed with whiskers tickling your nose, tender pats with big paws on your cheek and purrs in your ear that soothe your soul. I learned to treasure the love of a little kitten who was nothing but trash to someone else but was my princess, my sweetness and my door into the world of sharing my home with kittens and cats as well as puppies and dogs.