Thursday, November 02, 2006

Sad Day

If you don't want to hear a depressing story, stop reading now. Come back tomorrow, when I'll have something happier to share. This calls for tomorrow to be a kitty pic day, as a matter of fact.

When we decided to adopt a couple cats, we made our rounds among the different pet stores/shelter organizations and friends who were giving away kittens. We ultimately adopted Saffron and Jinx from friends who were giving them away. They came from a litter of 6. One of their brothers was already claimed, so we knew we'd have our choice of 5 when we returned to make our final choice.

When I picked Saffron up that day, she let me hold her. I could tell she was a little scared - the kittens weren't used to being handled a lot by people. But when I went to put her down, so I could get re-acquainted with her other siblings, she let out a yowl of displeasure. I looked at Mr. Honey, who was chasing Jinx around the garage, and said, "I think this one wants me!" I've since decided she was actually afraid I was going to drop her, but as her favorite spot to nap now is my or Mr. Honey's lap, I don't think we have any problems.

Now Jinx I fell in love with during our first visit to look at the kitties, before we'd decided where we would "rescue" our yet-to-be-determined kittens from. When we arrived at the house the first day, the mama cat's owner greeted us with his grandson. One held an orange tabby, the other an all-black kitten. Mr. Honey and I held each of them for a bit, and slowly, the remaining 4 kittens came out to see what the fuss was about. (Well, that and food was put down for them, so they came running.) There they were, 2 orange tabbies, 3 black cats, and my Jinx, a precious little tuxedo cat. All the way home, I kept saying to Mr. Honey, "I just loved the black and white one! I hope she's a girl. I want girl kitties. Wasn't it precious?" And so the morning we picked them up, we verified that she was a girl. Then she jumped down and began running all over the garage, as if it were a game of hide and seek with Mr. Honey. Once he caught her, she went right into the carrier. Now she wakes me every morning at 4:30 AM to knead and lick on my face, then curl up with her head in my armpit and fall back asleep until the alarm goes off.

As we left that morning with our new kitties, I looked at Mr. Honey and said, "I hope we picked the right ones." And I couldn't help thinking, I would've taken all five if I could've. But instead, the three little black kittens were left behind, awaiting space available at a shelter or a family friend to hear of someone else who wanted a kitten.

And thus the sad news. I found out today that my kittens' siblings have disappeared and were most likely eaten by coyotes. I know it's nature's version of population control, that had they not died, they probably would've had kittens of their own soon enough (I was considering asking Mr. Honey if we could take them and pay for their "fixing" as well, with the owner's permission, but as they're still too young, it didn't seem pressing), and there would've been more unwanted pets sitting in animal shelters and pet stores. But it's still sad. Had we not been limited by our rental rules to 2 kittens, maybe we could've saved another couple kittens from near certain death.

But I can't live life with only regrets. Instead, I'm grateful for my precious pets. I found out my vet's office has a bulletin board where people can advertise for homes for pets. Instead of regrets, I know that next time I'll have better resources to help some unwanted babies find homes.

Posted by Honey :: 12:21 PM :: 3 Comments:

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