“We have a cat.”
“Yeah, but The Cow is 8,000 miles away, and I miss her. Let’s get a kitten. Kittens make me happy.”
“How about we sign up to be foster carers for Cat Rescue? Then we could get kittens, keep them for a few weeks and get a new crop when they are adopted out.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
So I made arrangements to foster a pair of tortoise shell kittens for a week until they could be placed in an adoption center. When we arrived at the vet in Annandale, we were given two tuxedo kitties, plus a ‘bonus cat’. Being flexible and experienced, and appreciating the difficulties in placing cats that are beyond the cute and fuzzy stage, we agreed to take on the ‘four month old’ female.
It took less than 24 hours to learn that we are not cut out to be foster carers, as rescue cats are almost without exception damaged in some way. The bonus cat hid under the couch for the entire weekend. The kittens were indeed entertaining, but I was a little dismayed to learn that my compassion is not limitless. One of the kittens had a prolapsed rectum (basically, it had an ‘outie’ for an asshole, which resulted in significant ‘pinching off’ problems and a propensity for constant rectal leakage. Unable to keep it locked in the laundry room until Monday, I spent the entire weekend wiping the cat’s ass. Gross.
On Monday, we promptly returned the broken kittens to the vet, but agreed to keep the bonus cat until she could be placed for adoption. With the kittens gone, she emerged from under the couch and turned out to have a really great personality, affectionate and chirpy, and completely adoring of Kevin, following him everywhere (and stealing steak off his plate, which he found immensely amusing.) By the time I returned from the states, they had bonded completely and the house was filled with cat toys. Looks like we have a cat after all.
Upon my return, it became quite obvious that there was no way the bonus cat was four months old, as she was clearly at least five weeks pregnant. A short debate lead to the obvious conclusion that it would be in no one’s best interest to let her go to term, and so we made an appointment to have her ‘de-sexed’.
I don’t think a human abortion even costs $300. Not much incentive to keep the feline population under control here.
Meet Lady Hawke:
3 comments:
Cats...$2.50 cord..delivered and stacked. I'm sayin' there may be too many of them, and they may need to be culled.
Dan...an avid cat lover.
My mom had a cat with 4 kittens every year. It was getting hectic after several years so she decided to sterilise the cat. Some of the kittens were straying and some would be involved in motor car accidents.
Well, as long youcan cope with the numbers, I guess life goes on.
Wishin' you luck.
Good for you for being a foster carer and for wiping that kitty's butt! I literally laughed out loud (at work, mind you) when I read this post. I recently had to care for a puppy with really horrible diarrhea, so i feel ya (was that T.M.I??)! The things we do for our pets...
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