I have been going through some hard emotions and stress since I found a sweet momma cat six weeks ago. She is a loving girl, likes to be petted, visits me several times a day and is a cat I love to invite into my home to live with me. However, my home is a small apartment and I have two cats already and it would not be fair to bring another cat into such a small area. My Tiger cat came from a pound and it seems he was not treated too well before I got him and it took a long time to earn his trust and affection. So, mostly I felt it would not be fair to him since he already had to endure the new kitten Emmy coming along and getting half of "his" attention. Emmy was a rescue from a family that became allergic to her and they were going to take her to a shelter.
So, I have created a bond with momma cat. She didn't even mind too much when I interviewed people and brought them over to see her kittens, and eventually adopted out four of them. I believe they are all in good homes. Surely better than living outside and relying on kind people to feed them. She seemed to understand. Plus she was tired of nursing six kittens. She is barely more than a year old herself. She still liked to play with string and leaves almost as much as her babies did.
Today she has gone to the vet to get spayed and then she will go home to her new owner this evening. While explaining this to her, I cried last night and more this morning. I told her she is going to a loving home and I really hope that will be true. I know they have had cats before and they seem like nice people. During the last week, the new mom came to visit her several times and brought her treats and catnip plants. They have an older dog who has been around other cats and probably will want nothing to do with her, so that should be ok. She hasn't been around dogs much except the yip yip one who got off his owner's leash and chased my poor kitty all around the yard and into the parking lot. I kept telling the owner to control her dog but I guess she hadn't expected her to break free.
Pauline or "Paulie" for short is the new name her adoptive mom has given her. Her two remaining kittens are afraid of me now. Maybe because they saw their siblings disappear? Each one I adopted out made me really sad, but at the same time I knew they were going to a better situation. So this has been several weeks of worrying about these cats. I have checked in with the people who adopted the kittens and they all say they are doing fine. I guess I was lucky to get good people to adopt them since others said they didn't want "stray" or "wild" kittens. However, Paulie is so sweet and trusting that I know she is not feral and I think she was someone's pet. I don't know if she ran away or they abandoned her but I think it may have been the latter. And despite all that she has endured, including living outside in the cold and rain and having 2 litters of kittens at a young age, she is still very trusting and loving toward humans. This is a cat I would have really loved to adopt. If I had a house with several rooms I would have adopted her and given her a very loving home.
Now my plan is to humanely trap the kittens and adopt them out, too. One will go live with Paulie and her new mom, so that is a great thing. The other has a prospective new mom waiting for him if he is male. If he is a she then I have to look for a new mom for her, so I hope he is a he. Cause the mom I have picked out is really nice and only wants a male because her female cat hates other females and loves males. Go figure.
All this brings into clearer focus that I someday want to own a decent sized home on a piece of land so that I can take in abandoned or injured animals. I would rehabilitate them and adopt them out to good homes. I am also planning on learning some natural healing techniques and I want to get foster kids or other kids with difficult issues involved in caring for the animals. I think animals can heal us as much as we can heal them. Pure unconditional love is the greatest healer. I am praying this dream will come true.
Last but not at all least - please spay and neuter your pets. There is a low cost coupon here
http://www.oregonhumane.org/spay-neuter/OSNF_authorized_Jun07.pdf for the Portland area and if you live elsewhere, check with your local humane society. There are so many animals destroyed every year that it makes me heartsick, and we can all do something to help prevent more precious creatures from meeting that same fate.
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