I call it being "lapped" - once young kittens are on the scene, any cat not ten weeks or younger goes straight to the back burner.
Meet one lapped cat:
This is Tinks. He is gorgeous. He is friendly, after a lot of work by the FC (Foster Coordinator)that was needed because his start in life was less than ostentatious and he had no reason whatsoever to trust people. He is, as best as the FC can figure, part Maine Coon and part Siamese. He has brilliant blue eyes. When you pet him, it's like petting a damn cloud. And he purrs and purrs and purrs, and he gets along with other cats, and he does not freak out in thunderstorms, because we had a rip-snorter last night and he just ignored it, and ...
and he's too old. He's eight months now, and he's just gotten lapped by Cute Adorable Kitten Season. Please rest assured, that until we find him a home, he will always have a place to stay with me, and I wish I could say that for every cat out there.
This time of year will lift your spirits and dash them. Lift them with the gift of litters, hell, of snowdrifts, of teeny adorable kittens to care for until homes are found for them; and dash them with cats like Tinks; like Bella, who is now two; like Wanders and Stickers, who are now eleven; all of whom are in the foster system, just waiting for homes, and all of whom just got lapped by Cute Adorable Kitten Season.
Oh, they all find a home, eventually. Well, most of them do. And they're in foster homes while they wait, not in cages at a shelter, which is a huge plus for their well-being. But it's tough to see these cats, these ones cast aside by their former owners, waiting and waiting for home.
If you really want a kitten? Hell, get a kitten. Get two, actually, so they can keep each other company. Enjoy the SH*T out of them. But keep in mind that kittenhood is fleeting, and cats live a long time, and just because a cat isn't eight weeks old doesn't mean it's useless.
- stepping down from soapbox -
5 comments:
Yeah, and they're not disposable, either. I lived in a college town and every Christmas and the first of every May, there were nothing but abandoned cats and kittens wandering the streets.
I was able to place two one year. It wasn't much, but I know one of them lived a very pampered life to a ripe old age.
At the adoption center, I talk with a lot of college students interested in adopting who have no clear plan about what they're going to do with the cat once the semester ends. (needless to say, they don't get cats from us, but I'm sure they find them somewhere.)
You and I are just big ol' softies. I'm going to get all cliche up in here now, but it's like that old story about the guy throwing starfish back into the sea. We can't save all of 'em, but we save some of 'em.
Something I realized when I woke up one morning and found myself surrounded by 14 cats. In my own house.
But damn, it sure is hard sometimes.
You know, it would be a lot easier if the states, or the Fed, ran some kind of low-cost spay-neuter program.
But I can only imagine the fury the right-wingers would rain down on that.
Being a 60+ single woman, I know exactly how Tinks feels.
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