It almost happened again

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This bundle weighed about 2 pounds!

The background: I have quirks. (I know you are stunned!) I don’t like to see suffering and I’m partial to animals. I have a soft spot (some say it’s in my head but I think it’s in my heart). It’s especially strong for animals, babies and old people. Not so much for normal people (and I use the term normal loosely).

This week we went to our local feed store. They sell feed for farm animals. The draw is their birdseed prices which are especially good. I was stocking up for the winter. Those doggone birds with their outrageous parties can eat me out of my 401(k).

To say the place is rustic is being kind. It’s a barn. It’s always cold except when it’s hot. There is a small heater in the office/sales area but the storage area along with some of the retail sales shelving is not heated. The people are nice. They deal with country folks so everyone is neighborly.

I went to the counter and in a flash a black ball of fur climbed my arm, nestled on my shoulder and started to purr. Surprised I asked what that was about. They have working cats at the place because a feed store is prime real estate for mice. Their cats are friendly but not that friendly.

Someone had dropped off the kitten. It was no more than 8 to 12 weeks old. (At this point I want to yell obscenities at anyone who would do that especially since there is a rescue group up the street.) This happened around 11 a.m. and I was the seventh customer that received that greeting.

They called it Parrot because of its shoulder perching. They were looking for a home for it. It was too friendly to be a barn cat. Their local cats were not happy . (I feel some jealousy here. This kitten was as cute as they come.)

Stab in heart. Brain in overdrive. This would be a slam dunk to re-home. Adopters love super-friendly. My first try didn’t work although I think it was a mistake. Such a friendly cat makes a great companion to a retired person who spends the majority of their time at home.

Mentally I made a note to check the next day. If no one had come forward I would take it. I could call it “fostering.” The last cat I fostered was Jake. Just about the time I found someone who wanted him, I refused to relinquish him and he stayed here for 18 years.

Still, I would do that if necessary but it wasn’t. The feed store posted later in the day that a dad came in with his daughter and they adopted it. It went to a good home that already had arranged for a vet visit. That was the best news of the week.

I’ve just killed 500 words telling a story. My real purpose is that I don’t know why I feel compelled to help. I’m sure other people admired the little guy and went on their merry way. Why did it haunt me all day? Why did I have to actively work on solving this? And of course, why did I think I would be the perfect foster when I know that I’m not?

I don’t get this same level of angst for people. Maybe I think that there are enough programs and people already dedicated to solving people problems. Or maybe I’m quirky. It is what it is.

Author’s note: I couldn’t wait to post until my usual Friday cat day. It’s been an active week here at the Cat Casa.

 

79 thoughts on “It almost happened again”

  1. You feel compelled to help because you are a kindhearted person. (No matter how much you deny it!) And because you are a sucker for cats 🙂 And that is coming from a “takes one to know one” situation. So glad to hear the little one in question got adopted!

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  2. at my brother’s farm last week, one of the 4 kittens came straight up, hopped in my lap, tucked his orange head into the crook of my elbow and purred. Full on purr, snuggled in, and cozy. Man I wanted to bring him home on the plane with me. Totally get it and glad the little cutie was adopted; that little girl must be thrilled!

    -MJ

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  4. I would have been been befuddled by that little black fuzz face and worried over him, too. I mean, that face, those eyes! I am glad you have quirks and a soft place in your heart for animals, Kate. I know if that little kitten had not been adopted you would have stepped in. I love that about you! I am glad the Dad with a daughter adopted him and had an appointment at the vet… 🙂

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  5. Me too. I think we have a soft spot for animals and babies/children and the elderly because they have less power/control over things than most, and we feel they need help and that we can do something about it…so we do it. But..I have to say that cats are super clever and they know how to help themselves – which is what this little cutie was doing – look at how quickly he sorted out his living situation…. and he probably had a number of people on the case, including yourself. He reminds me of my own recently departed black cat.

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    • I’ve had two black cats and both were…umm…rascals. My current crop of non-black cats are not as crazy. This one was so little and you are right, everyone loved him. They had posted on their Facebook page and everyone was sharing it around to find a home for it.

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  8. OMG! What a cutie! Besides being so cute, he had a winning technique to make everyone love him. It’s not quirky to prefer animals. They’re a lot simpler than children and adults.

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  9. Who can resist a bundle of fur so sweet – in fact I’ve never met or seen a picture of a baby animal or bird that I wasn’t enamored with. It would have fit right in with the rest of the family, but at least you are assured it has a new home with plenty of love and attention.

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  10. I have those same empathy hot spots. And a whole lot less, to no empathy at all, for adult humans. In particular adults who are self sufficient or should be able to be.

    I feel sort of bad about it, but I’m just much more sympathetic to those who are more helpless. And that’s always animals, kids, and the elderly.

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    • I think this world needs more kindness in general. All critters have their unique personality. This one was wearing his on his fur. He knew what he was doing with all that purring. There was a sublime message of “adopt me” there.

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  12. Nothing wrong about you, just need more people like you!!
    What an adorable kitten, so glad he found a good home. Made a little girl happy!
    Keep caring!! ❤
    I am surprised that cats aren't showing up on your doorstep in great numbers for they are probably spreading the word among themselves about that really sweet cat lady! 🙂

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    • I worry about that. I did have a very young one (under 4 months) show up at my back door a few years back. Since I live in a development I canvassed everywhere thinking for sure he had gotten out. Nope. I was fortunate to find him a home in 24 hours which was just about the time I was bonding with him. Another hour and he wouldn’t have left.

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  15. I get it! I think I have some of the same tendencies towards an animal that’s been abandoned. I have nothing in my background with which to say I have any personal abandonment concerns, but clearly this kitten wasn’t suffering, but it was abandoned…rejected…and that’s all it takes for me! Your softness in this area is challenging when you can’t help them all, I know, but at least in this case the story had another twist that let you off the hook! I try to be generous with shelters and agencies that do the hard work, to at least assuage whatever guilt builds up! LOL!

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  16. I totally get it. I’m the same way. I haven’t bumped into cats needing a home, but I have bumped into dogs needing a home. Each time I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I walked away. I too, considered fostering them. I actually did foster two dogs and then found them good homes. I also feel more hurt for animals then humans. I’ve tried to figure this out, and the only thing I could come up with is that animals seem more innocent than humans. They don’t complain (mostly) and couldn’t tell us what was wrong even if they wanted to because they don’t speak human. It kills me that Max can’t tell me what’s happening when he’s sick. So, in other words, I can relate. 😛

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  20. We’re all chiming in on your post today, because it resonates with, well, cat people. 🙂 One of my two cats I rescued from a grocery store parking lot in the middle of an freak fall blizzard, a tiny orange ball of fluff that has been my boon companion for the past 11 years. My other foster was adopted at age one when a good friend could no longer keep him. He’d be a GREAT only cat, but has learned to adapt to the other “only” in the family. We understand perfectly where you are coming from, Kate. Keep up the good work!

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  23. I have the same “problem”–LOL! Solved by the one cat rule in my current apartment complex and same in the previous one. I have fostered many animals over my lifetime and kept many, too. Animals are more defenseless than most humans. Most–meaning I agree–I come to the defense of the young, old, and the infirm, as they used to say. They all need looking out for. That little sweetheart would have haunted me, too. Glad it got a good home. 🙂

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  28. It’s because you are a wonderful person.

    I worry more about people who don’t have a kind heart towards animals.

    Squeee! I would have wanted to bring her home too … although Theo would probably try and eat her for lunch. LOVE her little fur-face to pieces and a pox on those @$$&*!%$ who dumped her!

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    • That was amping up my angst too. In fact someone posted on the feed mill’s site that it wasn’t a good time to try to home it. (They hadn’t figured out the sex yet. When they are small, it’s hard to tell and I didn’t turn it upside down to check myself.)

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  30. I think many of us softies feel that people can often (not always, but often) take care of themselves. Animals in need, though, many times require our help. I’m so happy to know that Parrot found a good home. A sweet kitty like that deserves all the love and attention it can get. All’s well that ends well.

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  31. I think, to be fair, that there are numerous programs to help people just as their are numerous people who are their own worst enemies. In contrast, support for our 4-legged friends is significantly less, and they can rarely (if ever) be held responsible for their circumstances. Conclusion – I agree with you! 🙂

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  32. What a cutie!
    You should have brought him/her home.

    P.S. There is NOTHING wrong with you. Animals are better than people in almost every way . . . except if you want to carry on a two-sided conversation.

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