Meow Mix

So we did end up bringing in the kitten last night. It was getting rather chilly out and we just couldn't imagine her spening another night out there (and yes, it's a girl, after all!). So after hours camped outside our apartment door, I finally picked her up, brought her inside and promptly bathed her in the kitchen sink. Of course, she hated it at first, but by the end of the process I had a calm, clean, towel-swaddled kitty looking up at me.

Since we didn't know what, if any, diseases she might have, we had to keep her secluded from Greg House. Bryony and I kept going to visit her in the bathroom where we had set her up with water, food and a litter box. She mewed and purred. Bryony fell in love and I felt a little taken by her, too.

Somewhere during the course of night, however, reality started to sink in. Another cat? More vet bills? As it is, we're single-handedly financing our local vet with Greg House's monthly treatments, and Kika's old age issues have required several visits in the six months that we've lived here. The idea of getting a new kitten spayed, vaccinated, possibly declawed and treated for goodness-knows-what-else was overwhelming. Especially since we're currently a one-income family trying to pay off debt and save for hard times that might lie ahead. Suddenly the last thing I wanted was a new cat in the picture.

When we got up this morning, I suggested to Adam that we look for no-kill shelters in the area that might take in the cat. He seemed a bit relieved and I realized we were on the same page. I looked online and found a shelter about fifteen minutes away. We packed Miss Kitty away in the kennel and shepharded her to the shelter, where they promptly turned us away due to overcrowding. We ended up at Animal Control, just around the corner from our apartment, where they set her up in a cage of her own, amongst a handful of other cats and kittens. I specifically asked how long she had before her time was up, and the woman said there was no set limit; many of the animals had been there for several months. I was grateful, particularly since Miss Kitty is cute and very friendly. I just hope her health checks out.

Now we are home living our lives as usual and I am wondering how she's doing there. I'll bet she's sorry she ever landed on my doorstep. I just hope one day she's adopted by someone amazing who will thoroughly love her. Maybe then Miss Kitty will forgive us.