We took Jenny the cat to the Humane Society two weeks ago for health
problems that our vet failed to diagnose—much less treat successfully. Hopefully they diagnosed and treated her health
problems successfully and then re-homed her elsewhere. I could call to find out, but I don’t think I
want to know. The downside for us would
be much sadder than the possible upside compared with just imagining a happy
outcome for Jenny.
We started looking at the kitten marketplace even before taking Jenny
to the shelter. There is no such thing
as “free kittens” in our neck of the woods.
I wanted the same sort of kitten as before: a spayed shorthaired female 2-3
months old.
Craigslist does not allow for the selling of pets, but they will allow
for a “re-homing fee” which can vary between $30 to $100 depending on the
kitten. None are purebred Siamese or
other cats of that ilk which would be a LOT more expensive from breeders. Fair enough.
That stops crappy breeders from running inbreed puppy mills on
Craigslist.
We shopped at more places for a kitten than I do for a new car. A shout-out and thanks to the good people at
the Humane Society, Meow Cat Rescue, Motley Zoo, Paws, ForgetMeNot and
Craigslist for all they do to make the world a better place for us and our
furry friends.
Aside from the credit check, the shelters are more in-depth than an
apartment rental background check. They
also all have this creepy obsession about declawing cats.
Volunteer & staff both: “Did we want a kitten that had been
declawed?”
Me: “Do you have one?”
Them: “No”
Me: “Then why are you asking?”
Them: another 5 minutes of prurient macabre discussion of live
dissection of cats even after being politely asked to stop. I found it creepy, gross and annoying.
The process was not designed to be fast and presumably does weed out
some that are unfit to be pet owners. My
guess is the unfit owners just get them cheaper and faster elsewhere.
After some forms and discussion we got to go in the kitten room. Mostly the kittens scattered. I almost got one. One female came right up to Lea. Her name was Love Bug and she was a sweet tortoiseshell with a loud happy
purr. Since our current cat is a tortoiseshell named June Bug, it was deemed a good omen on several counts. A few minutes of petting later and we went to
complete the transaction. Half an hour
later, we were out the door with a new kitten, 3 cat toys and a cardboard
carrier.
Love Bug looks almost exactly like June Bug except for a white spot on
her front right middle toe. JB hisses at
LB now and then but is quickly coming around.
As I am writing, JB is sitting next to me watching LB play in an empty
box—one of JB’s favorite activities. JB
is dying to go play but is stuck with being a bit standoffish still in that cat
sort of way. Soon they will be great
together. It will be like having twins with
an 8-year age difference!
I am grateful for JB and LB. It
is good to have happy loving pets that are fun and well-mannered.
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