I love cats. In fact, some might say, I'm a little bit addicted to them. Whenever I see a cat, I just can't stop myself from petting it, picking it up, snuggling it. I've been cat free for a little over a year. It's been a hard adjustment and I think and talk about getting a cat on a regular basis. Clark doesn't suffer from the same tendencies as me. He once confessed to me that he derives no pleasure from associations and contacts with cats. Unfortunately, Clark lives with not only one cat lover but two. Jaron loves cats as much (or more) than me.
Since losing Cooper (our cat) in our lives I've been contemplating adding another furry friend to our lives again. Clark convinced me to wait until we moved. He is now trying to convince me to wait until after we have the baby. I'm sure once the baby is born, he'll come up with another reason to try to get me to wait. The thing is, if I really wanted to, I could have gotten another cat by now. I know full well if I went out one day with the boys and picked up a kitten and brought it home Clark wouldn't be too surprised or bothered. I've been held back by other issues.
However, I had the perfect opportunity Wednesday night to feed the cat addiction. My parents were in town and had taken us out to dinner. While some of us were finishing up, Clark was monitoring the boys by the entrance to the restaurant. I was discussing with my parents the cat issue and explaining how much Jaron loves and wants a cat. I was in the process of telling them how regularly Jaron brings up cats (he is even now pretending to be a cat by meowing). Just as I was divulging Jaron's cat desires he runs up and adamantly exclaimed, "Mommy there is a kitty. Hurry come see! Grandma come see the kitty! Grandpa come see the kitty!"
I quickly followed only to discover Jaron had spotted a kitten. A little kitten that seemed to be injured and most likely a stray. He had some sort of infection around an eye and was also limping. He was the friendliest little thing and willingly came up to me.
Of course, me being the softy I am, I immediately was concerned for this kitten. We attempted to call the shelters in the area - closed. The police station animal control - out for the evening. What to do with this kitten? I couldn't just leave it! Good thing my dad is also a cat lover and agreed with me that we shouldn't leave it.
I figured that maybe we could stop by our local fire station and they would shelter the kitten for the night. I was worried about taking the cat home; especially with how Jaron was excited about the whole thing. (It also doesn't help that one of Jaron's favorite stories currently is about a little girl finding a stray kitten and getting to keep it.)
The scene at the fire station was amusing. We determined that I was the best bet to talk to the fire fighters. I was getting pointers on gushing tears at the appropriate time. I couldn't get these guys to budge for the life of me. "Come on, you are public servants. You really should be helping the public out by sheltering this kitten for the night." No go. I laughingly threatened to call them out some night to my house at 4AM for a false fire alarm. I'm sure they thought I was crazy.
So here I am, the addict, bringing this kitten home. A blessing in disguise, that Jaron fell asleep in the car and had no clue what we had brought home. I worried about this kitten in a box in our garage and checked on it several times. My parents and Clark laughing at me. I kept wondering why we didn't just keep it. Clark's biggest defense to this question: "He's really not that cute of a cat."
However, what got me is the thought that this cat belonged to someone else and had just wandered and gotten injured. (That's what we tried to explain to Jaron about not wanting to keep it.) The next morning, we drove it over to the local shelter. I felt terrible leaving that kitten. I didn't feel entirely confident that the cat would survive the shelter, especially since one of the workers explained to me if the medical costs to patch the cat up were too expensive. I'm desperate to know what is (or will) happen. But then I wonder again, am I ready to feed this addition? I know one thing, if I'm in another situation bringing home a stray kitten, it most likely just found its new home.
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