My husband came home Saturday with a kitten. Or rather, he sent my 5 year old in clutching the dang thing under her chin and uttering an almost incoherent stream of begging. He then proceeded to tell me that he told our animal-adoring child that if I said no they'd have to take it back. If I said no. Yeah, sure, make Mom the bad guy. The mangy thing was in my house. There was no way I was getting it back out again.
And okay, considering I already have 3 you might be asking, "What's one more?" I'll tell you.
My darling husband deposited the thing (which was filthy and truly ugly) along with my daughter in our den and then promptly disappeared into our bedroom to take a nap. Now, he did take the girls out that morning so I could sleep until 9 and read until 11 so I'm not begrudging him the nap - he really deserved it. What I do begrudge is the fact that as soon as he woke up he disappeared again with the girls leaving me with the thing - which promptly spent the next several hours yaking on everything (including my bed). The poor little mite stank to high heaven, was shaking like a little leaf, and truly felt miserable. And I got to clean up after it and cuddle it in a towel until they got home. We gave it a bath (probably not the best idea in hindsight but it really did reek). By Saturday night DH and I honestly thought the little thing was going to die. It just laid there in a miserable heap, dehydrated, wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink - not even the goat milk we put in a bottle for him. We finally did coax him to down several pieces of kitten food. We hand fed him every hour for several hours until we were sure he wasn't going to get sick again, then set a bowl of water next to him and let him curl up and sleep.
By the morning he was a completely different animal. Now he's running around, chasing his tail, being a real kitten. He's still very skinny (we don't think the people who had him were feeding him anything just letting him fend for himself outside) and still ugly in an adorable, kinda cute way. Sweet Pea named him Garrett - a name that's practically bigger than he is. In a few short days he's already become a member of the family. Dang it! Just what I needed one more four legged animal to follow me around. Seriously, there's not enough room in the bed at night for DH, me, the cats and now the kitten. Hmm, maybe his punishment will be buying me a bigger bed ;-D
Instigator
9 comments:
Hang in there, Instigator! This sounds almost exactly like what happened to us when we found Christine Daae. She was about 10 weeks old and as scrawny as they come. Neighbors had seen the poor thing scavaging for food for a past week before we found her. She had fleas, worms, stank, was nothing but skin and bone but we gave her a home and now she is the prettiest, fluffiest kitty we've ever seen.
Within a cocoon is a butterfly. A weed grows a beautiful flower.
While having another animal to care for may seem like the last straw, remember to experience the joy in saving a life, especially when you have to clean up the hacked up stuff. LOL.
Kathy
Okay, after that description, I seriously need a picture. I've got to know what an "ugly in a cute kind of way" cat looks like!
Yep, those pleading kids' eyes will fell you every time. Just do the best you can and know that pretty soon it will just be you and him (once the other kitties go back to their own home).
Angel
My boss in LV had 5 kittens to give away. I'd told her no about 10 different times. That summer, she had a bbq and invited everyone over. I took my mom with me. We were playing with the kittens and she told me how all but one had a home. The littlest and fluffiest one, a little girl. I said no. My boss then proceded to take the kitten out to where my mother was and let them bond. Then I had a kitten. A few weeks later my mom had to have surgery. Her friend came into town (to watch her, although I think it was more of a partner in crime situation) and one afternoon, they decided to go to petsmart and try to find Jell-o a friend. I came home to a scrawny, curious gray kitten. That's how this stuff happens. Six years later, they're still around and yes, they yak on everything. My poor carpet...
SP
I'm with Lori--I want to see a picture. :-)
Good luck, Instigator, O Keeper of the Kitties. :-)
Bless you my child. My older cat has gotten to the yakking-up-everything-and-pooping-on-the-carpet stage and I'm ready to scream! We may be in the final stages of temporary custody of the younger cat though. If #1 son and DIL buy a house, they'll take custody of him again. They have a contract on a house that's hinging on the inspection. Keep your fingers crossed.
Although there are times when AC and I would really like to have a warm-blooded pet, sometimes I'm very glad it's not an option.
I hate cleaning up after myself--much less a critter. I just got AC to the point that I think I can safely replace my carpets cat yak would not make me happy.
Good for you, Crazy Cat Lady.
What an honorable deed you have done. There may be only one problem now. Baby Girl will need a loving companion of her own.
I am sure one of the fine folks on this site would be willing to help.
That isn't funny! Baby Girl will just have to latch on to the dog or the other cat. Everyone in my family is on live animal restriction until pigs fly. :-)
Instigator - who will try and post a picture of the ugly/cute kitten this weekend.
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