Tempting Kitties
I shop at a pet supply store for my cat food where they have three cages for rescued cats from local shelters. The cats usually come in pairs, and they do their best to adopt them in pairs, which I think is wonderful. Often they are young, but sometimes they are middle-aged, but there aren’t too many details.
A few months ago, soon after I lost Cookie, I saw a long-haired tortie cat there named Cookie. It’s easy at that point in grief to still be “looking” for the cat you’ve recently lost, the wound is still open and waiting to be filled, but she didn’t look like Cookie or “feel” like Cookie, she was definitely a different cat, but that outstretched paw, and her love of chin scratches… I also remember that she had a somewhat sad aspect, not just quiet, but somber; she is young, but there was no kitten smile in her eyes.
Today I saw that she was back! She had been with an orange and white cat the last time, but this time she was in a cage with three other who were all sleeping in a pile at first, apparently the staff felt they wanted to be together and the kitties were obviously enjoying a nap together. But when I came to the cage to talk, Cookie and her exquisite male friend Winter, pure white with one blue eye and one yellow eye came to the front of the cage and swatted for my camera strap and waved their paws at me. Oh, what a pair!
I gave Cookie a good chin scratch, and remembered how much my Cookie had enjoyed chin scratches, squinching up her face and pulling her short, curved whiskers all to the front. I cannot adopt any more cats, but I may look into sponsoring at least Cookie if I can. If anyone wants to adopt, I’ll be glad to tell you where to find them!
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I know how you feel, Bernadette. Jimmy, the b/w kitten that I fostered from his 4th week to his seventh month.. is STILL in the Cat Sanctuary waiting for his Forever Family n his Forever Home. That’s nearly six weeks that he’s been there!! I can’t bear the thought of it. His Life was so full of Love n Fun here, he won’t understand what’s going on now at all, however nice they are to him there.
God Love Him xxx Good Luck, Jims xxx
Good Luck n God Bless, Cookie xxx
Annie, do you know I’ve never adopted a cat? They’ve always been my rescues who stayed with me. It’s a little intimidating to think about, and the two are really so lovely and good friends. I can’t imagine fostering and then seeing the foster wait and wait for a home. I know they stand a better chance of being adopted in a sanctuary, but still…bless the beasts and the children, as it goes.
I didn’t feel I could doom Jimmy to his whole Cat Life being spent here in a one bedroom flat.. never being able to go outside safely.. with me poorly n limited in what I can do.
[That’s why when I couldn’t bear fostering any more, because of the trouble I had, within the Cats Protection system, making sure my fosters went to what I considered appropriate homes, I started adopting rescued OLDIES, who didn’t mind a quiet, more sedentary last few years].
When fostering, I used always keep my fosters here with me until a good family.. with appropriate premises.. came along. Jimmy had already waited four months since Christmas for a Forever family via Cats Protection. We had NO OFFERS OF A HOME FOR HIM passed along to us at all in that time. I’m really regretting agreeing to let him go to the Sanctuary, where he was supposed to be safely homed ‘in days’.
Annie, I don’t know your situation, but it certainly sounds like you REALLY care about Jimmy. I bet the size of the house and your own limitations didn’t matter to him. Would the Sanctuary let you take him back now? Perhaps the Universe is intent on having the two of you together again….
Annie, I’m with Amby in seeing if you can “foster him back”, just for a little break to be back in a home instead of at the sanctuary. We don’t let our cats outside, and they are fine with that so I doubt Jimmy would mind. He’d probably be glad to be back with you. And perhaps there have been no offers because the universe intends him for you…
She’s a beauty, just like your Cookie was, Bernadette.
Ingrid, she is truly a temptation. I’ve never actually adopted a cat, as I told Annie in my reply to her, I’ve only rescued and figured the universe would bring me the cats I need. The thing I realize now as I think about them is that Winter reminds me very much of Namir, very, very much, but I was so focused on Cookie that the realization didn’t come together until last night. I’ve been thinking constantly about the two of them together, outside with me…but I can’t bring two more cats into the house. Sigh.
Bernadette, six cats really aren’t THAT many… you nearly always had MORE! You should commune with Kelly and see what SHE has to say about it. She might also feel that Namir’s spirit is returning via Winter. And I’ve always thought of you with EIGHT.
Amby, I know my magic number was nine for about 20 years, but we are comfortable with six right now. Kelly is still struggling with the guys, and there is always finances to consider…but they are beautiful, and then there’s the idea of new art subjects to consider.
Just for the sake of the art work you should consider these kitties… torties are always beautiful and Winter would be a brilliant contrast to Mimi and the Fab Four.
Amby, you’ve always been a bad influence on me where cats are concerned!