Why do people think they can dump unwanted pets in the country? It is something I have seen many times over the years, and each time it blows me away.
Mama and her 3 kittens were deposited near our house yesterday. I have no idea by whom or when. The coward no doubt opened his or her car door and plunked her and her litter onto the ground and drove off hurriedly, before anyone could notice.
The cats are clean and well-kept. Judging from how mama wants to come right into the house with us, I expect she lived at least part of her life with a human family, indoors. She's loving and affectionate. I believe this must be her first litter as she is barely full grown herself.
Mama hid her kittens and scoped out the situation at our house after being left behind. Are these people friendly? Do they like cats? Will they have food and water? Will my babies be safe with them? Can we sleep here?
Maybe it seems like I'm giving this creature human thoughts, and you think I shouldn't do that. But once she saw we welcomed her and fed her, mama brought her kittens to the door. As soon as a rug-lined box was rustled up, she nested there with her babies. She ate and drank. She purred. She followed us as we worked about the yard and garden. She still seems to love people, even after being abandoned.
We would love to keep these kittens and their mother, but it is simply not practical for us. First of all, we already have a cat, Jasmine, and two dogs, Boo and Roxy. Boo has a strong hunting instinct. I'm afraid she might view these kittens as prey. Secondly, we would have to spay or neuter all of them, and this is a bad time for us to come up with that kind of money. So, the bottom line is, we have to do what the previous owner shirked doing: we have to find homes for these adorable creatures.
We are visiting Gourdo's mother this holiday weekend and will bring the cats to her house. She has agreed to take two of them, but the kittens are not quite old enough to leave their mother. I'm hoping she will keep the entire litter until the kittens are weaned. Then we can all try to find a home for the remaining two cats.
Note: Willy White Socks, above, has extra toes. He and one of his siblings are six or seven-toed. The third kitten and mama do not. The technical term for this is polydactyl. Ernest Hemingway had a polydactyl cat, and the many-toed descendants of his cat live on today at his former home and museum in Key West, Florida, where they are provided for by the terms of his will. Cat Photos by JulenaJo.
