Saving a Kitten
I did a very hard thing today. I saved a kitten's life.
She had been hanging around the home of
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seekerofspace and others, and they were feeding her. I was caring for the resident cat and dog this week, and they asked me to keep an eye on the kitten as well (dubbed Esther). In a hare-brained scheme that got me in a lot of trouble, I brought her home tonight and found her a home.
As soon as I got to the house at lunchtime, I grabbed Esther and put her in a closed room. I got the resident cat's carrier and put the kitten in it with some food and water, out of the reach of the dog - but Parker, the resident cat, still jumped up and sniffed. He left her alone though, and she ate the food ravenously - as she always does.
I called the lady at
Capital Cats and she suggested I call the
Washington Animal Rescue League. Naturally, they were closed for Xmas Eve. I knew that now that she was in the carrier, she had to come home. I tried looking into rental cars - I had taken metro downtown, my car is still snowed in - but they were all closing too early. So I put a blanket over the carrier and off we went back to Gallaudet. That's a 0.6 mile walk, and she did
not like it.
I looked on the WMATA website, and it turns out you CAN take animals on board in secure containers. So...onto the Gallaudet shuttle (where she got lots of attention) we went. She cried every time she was carried, and every time she was put down, she settled. I could feel her walking around in the carrier as we walked, it could not have been too comfortable, but she didn't know to sit down!
The metro ride was entirely uneventful, she quieted down quickly. I took a cab home and ushered her upstairs to the spare room. We ended up in the bathroom because I didn't know if she was litter-trained. I had food, water, a litter box, and a pad for her to sleep on, but she was having none of it -
I was the bed of choice. She fell asleep literally in my hands, poor thing must have been so exhausted after the long trip! While she was in my hands, she twitched as cats do when they're sleeping. I sat there for a while and finally managed to extricate one hand so I could use my phone and netbook.
The Capital Cats lady had also suggested Craigslist, so that's what I did. I posted some pictures and got a few responses quickly. I ended up interviewing the first guy for two hours over email, and I was satisfied that although he wasn't too knowledgeable about cats - having grown up with dogs - his wife had grown up with cats and she would be okay. I made
damn sure this was as close to a forever home as I could hope to find for little Esther. She can't be more than 6-8 months old, judging by size. I had NO health info, only that she didn't seem to have fleas or mites - she wasn't scratching or worrying any spots.
So after a long exchange of emails - she was on my lap the
entire time - I finally had the guy come over. He didn't have much in the way of a carrier, but we made it work and he said he was going to buy a carrier. This made me a little apprehensive, but I think we got her well secured and on the way. I looked out the window as he left - I think he even buckled the carrier into the front seat, a nice touch, something I have always done myself. The sweet thing was that he gave me a Xmas card, obviously picked up on his way over, saying "From [his name], [his wife's name], and Kitten" - it was cute. They're a young couple and they just got approved for their first apartment together.
I worry a little, honestly. I didn't have the luxury of screening their place. I didn't meet the wife. But he assured me they would send vet records, pictures, anything I wanted. I hope I did the right thing. I think I did. But there's that nagging worry. Is a two-hour interview enough? What if I made a mistake? I hope she'll be okay. She is very sweet and friendly, I think she will be okay. But I still worry...I guess because no home would have been as good as
my home. But I couldn't keep her.
I'm officially never fostering a cat again, even for a few hours like I did today. For pete's sake, she slept in my lap the whole time, she pawed at my face, she was so sweet and cute...I could
never do this again. Which as just as well, because my wife yelled at me for at least half an hour over bringing her home. Which, yeah, it was hare-brained. But it worked out.
I tell myself this: 12 hours ago, she was on the streets, cold and hungry all the time. Now, she's in a home, warm and fed and loved. She had that with me, but I couldn't give it to her forever. I tried to find someone who would love her as much as me. I did the best I could, but I'm still so heartbroken that I had to let her go.
Pictures and video
here.
