In Search of Homes for All

I am still in the waiting game with the bank. They want a bank statement that won’t be generated till June 7 and not available till June 10. The want it June 3. I see why so many people choose to rent. I will if I must but the rents here just went up another $40 a month. Wow! Supply and demand. If everyone trying to buy a home, even one like I’m trying to buy has this much aggravation, I understand the rental demand.

On that note, I’ll tell you about a few others that needed a bit of help to find a home. My daughter and I were coming back from our Sunday errands and saw little kittens poking their sweet faces out from under the apartment building across from me. The neighbor who lives there is not fond of cats, especially feral cats. I just can’t seem to mind my own business. So I brought down a little tin of food and a small, soft cat kennel. Those frisky little guys are like stealth jets. Lunging for food, then retreating into the hole. I finally managed to snag one and pop it into the kennel for a trip to my guest bath. My daughter took one look at (her) and gifted her the name Smudge.

Any question as to why she got her name? She also ran the show.

It took another day to collect two more and while I was sitting on my neighbor’s porch trying to catch the last two, I was being observed by a gentleman in his car. He had apparently been keeping track and feeding the mother cat. He and his wife were going to attempt to get her spayed if they could corral momma. That was one big cat and I was not going to mess with her. I know almost nothing about them other than I wanted to find them homes.

Smudge got her share first, then the other 2 ate. I think that’s why Smudge was the biggest.

As it turned out, the gentleman and his wife came to my place and decided to call Smudge their own. They took her to their vet while I took the other two to mine. Ironic that I have a vet and own no animals. I thought about keeping one or two but I am surrounded by packed boxes with little room to walk, much less keep track of wily kittens. One wrong move and they would be gone again. On top of that, the vet determined they needed some extensive treatments which I didn’t have the resources or energy to do. Smudge had the same problems but her family were in a better position to take care of that. The vet fosters kittens so she took them in for treatment and would then place them in good homes. I was sad and happy at the same time.

Cinder and Puff (of smoke) outside the hard kennel. Door was open but they felt safe in there.

It had to be about what was best for the kittens, not what would entertain me. I won’t have the time to devote for a while so it’s best for me to wait and see. In the meantime, I’ll do my best to keep wrangling strays when they cross my path.

Puff was larger than Cinder. At 7 weeks old, they are just too tiny

Is there any solution to the abandonment of unwanted pets that leaves them to fend for themselves? If we can’t make some people responsible for the children they’ve brought into the world, how can we persuade them to be responsible for the animals they leave behind? I’m trying hard not to rant here, but I really want to.

From my heart to yours,
Marlene Herself