Rescue Story: Cast Away, an Unwanted Kitten, and All Our Expectations
I first wrote this story in 2014 when I found a copy of the “found kitty” sign in my files, but I had never forgotten Sasha. There was so much to tell that I wrote it in two parts, but later I put them both together in one long post.
The unwanted kitten, given away for free
The story is from 1997. This little guy was full of lessons and not just for me, but for the people who abandoned him as well as the people who adopted him. His is the story of the unwanted kitten given away as a Christmas gift to someone who didn’t want him. For the rest of us it is the story of our own expectations, and trying to find in him what we were looking for and not what he needed, and ultimately giving in to what we knew was right for him, for our households of cats, and for all of us.
Animals often join our lives to move us along in some area where we may be stagnating or to introduce something new to our lives aside from themselves. In rescuing animals, there is always more to learn.
I heard a soft knocking on my storm door and saw a giggling gaggle through the glass. I knew some of them, grade schoolers who I saw around the neighborhood and who sometimes visited me for my cats. And because they knew all the other kids in the neighborhood and played around the back yards, they knew most of the pets in the neighborhood and were a great resource when I found a cat—or dog—and wanted to determine if it belonged to anyone. So we had had a few conversations before. It was early January 1997 and they were selling something to finance something they wanted to do at school, candy bars, wrapping paper, band camp, trip to Hawaii, they knew I was good for at least one order.
I stepped out on the front porch with them though it was bitter cold and in the late afternoon growing quickly colder. That was when I saw the cat, a long-haired black cat, walking around behind them on the porch.
Rather than republish the whole story here, I’ve linked to the prior post. There’s nothing violent, and Sasha ends up in the best home for him, but a lot of frustration and misunderstanding. Click here or on the photo below to read the story.
I know the cat above looks like Basil, but this is a photo—on film—of Sasha. And I’ll just point out that he’s a housepanther…yes, they find me any way they can.
Read other stories in my Rescue Stories series on The Creative Cat.
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Great Rescues Day Book:
Portraits, Rescue Stories, Holidays and Events, Essential Feline Information, All in One Book
Each month features one of my commissioned portraits of a feline or felines and their rescue story along with a kitty quote on the left page, and on the right page the month name with enough lines for all possible dates, with standard holidays and animal-themed observances and events. Great Rescues also includes a mini cat-care book illustrated with my drawings including information on finding strays or orphaned kittens, adopting for the first time or caring for a geriatric cat, a list of household toxins and toxic plants, or helping stray and feral cats and beginning with TNR.
Each book includes also 10 sheets of my “22 Cats” decorative notepaper with a collage of all the portraits in black and white so you can make your own notes or write special notes to friends.
The portraits in this book, collected as a series, won both a Certificate of Excellence and a Muse Medallion in the 2011 Cat Writers’ Association Annual Communication Contest, as well as the 22 Cats Notepaper mentioned below.
Copyright
All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
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Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
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Sasha was a true beauty.
He really was, even when he was a little bit, before his full coat grew in. Even as difficult as it was for him, I’m glad he showed up on my porch that evening with the kids, and I could get him to safety later.