The first of the kittens to go went to his new home yesterday afternoon. Earnest Rutherford, now to be known as Rufus left the rest of his litter who are all convalescing next door on W*****'s sleeping porch. He (along w/everyone else) was parted from his reproductive organs Thursday, spent a quiet night & then he in particular got down to the business of playing with string & strips of newspaper.
The five of them have gotten to be old pros at traveling (2 trips to the vet for exam, rabies vaccs et al & then 3 weeks booster in addition to Thursday's surgery). Rutherford/Rufus went easily into the cat carrier & fell asleep while we talked over him for another 20 minutes or so. I have seen a picture of him in his new home where he looked plenty comfortable, relaxing on an area rug. Before he left, while h snoozed in the carrier, the others were mildly interested in what was going on at first, but then got more interested in looking out the windows, bathing & eating. Considering they started their new life with in our barn (& before that were on the side of a dirt road), they have made the transition to indoor cats nicely. For some of them it will be a permanent transition, which I suspect will be fine with them.
Today was another red letter day of sorts. It was on Friday, July 13th that we discovered the kittens (well, they discovered us) & managed to catch & bring home 2 of them. This morning I was up earlier than usual for my run (a new pattern that will need to prevail for the next few months; by late morning the heat & humidity make it almost impossible to breathe & I end up walking the last 2/3rds of my route breathing so loud it is hard to hear oncoming traffic). Naturally, I cannot help but scan the stretch the where kittens first appeared. I wonder what happened to their mother, for one thing, although they were not less than 3 months old & she may not have been left with them. I wonder how someone could have had them in a home (there is NO DOUBT they know the difference between a litter box & a bit of tracked in sand on a concrete floor) & then tossed them. Even the most aloof of them is a very friendly cat.
I have said before (to everyone who will listen) there was no need to toss them. Multiple rescues in town would have taken them, as is. The local humane society shelter had a brief shut down when a cat tested positive for feline leukemia, but the other local groups stepped in & did what they could (it really was brief, no cats in or out for five days I think). Even crazier, the group No More Homeless Pets spays & neuters for less than $50 an animal, 4 days a week. The group does not even care if you live in the city or even the county or wherever. If you don't have the cash, call them anyway, there are ways to get it paid for. They (& any thinking person, really) would rather a dog or cat get spayed/neutered than make more & more.
The process was a small headache as pick-up & drop-off times are rigid, but this is obviously because they do A LOT of work every day (I was told 35 animals were being dealt with the day we went & I believe it & this was a garden variety Thursday). The staff is friendly & helpful, & do everything they can to get you in & out in a timely way. I cannot say enough good things about them, actually. I am glad they were there when we needed them & have added them to the local NPR station as groups we support with cash donations.
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