Monday, July 10, 2006, 21:06
Another One
Another kitten went home today.
A lady called Sunday night and said she had seen the flyer that I had posted in the grocery store in town and wondered if I had any kittens left.
"Sure," I said. "I've got six of them down in the barn."
She wanted to know what they looked like. I described them (one black long-haired kitten, several short-haired blacks/black tabbies and a couple of gray ones).
"I guess I don't really care what they look like," she said. "We've been without a cat for a while, and I'm going into withdrawal. My son works at the grocery store, and he saw your flyer first."
She wanted to know if she could come out Monday morning to look at the kittens, and I said that would be fine.
I fed the kittens this morning, and then I put them into the kitty carrier so I would be able to find them. The little rascals spend the early morning playing. Then they eat their breakfast. And then they crawl up into the hay for a nap that lasts most of the day. When they get up into the pile of hay, I can't see them and don't know where they are.
The kittens finished eating and I put four of them in the kitty carrier. One of the little gray ones sounded a bit congested, I thought, with his breathing, so I'm going to have to get some antibiotic for him. One of the little black ones got up into the hay pile before I got hold of him, so he was left out, too.
The lady came right on the dot at the appointed time of 9 a.m. She brought her daughter with her, a little red-headed girl of eight or nine.
I took the kittens out of the carrier so they could see them, and right away, the little girl knew she wanted the long-haired black kitten (a tom) who had white guard hairs on his legs.
They brought a box with them for the kitten. We put him inside, and I taped the cover closed so he wouldn't escape before they got him home (there were holes for him to breathe along the sides).
Just before they got into the car, I leaned down and talked to the hole in the side of the box.
"You be a good kitty," I said. "And have a good life."
The lady smiled. "He's going to be spoiled to within an inch of his life," she said. "Out of all of her friends at school, she's the cat person. She's the one who adores kitty cats."
The shining eyes of the little red-haired girl let me know that, yes, indeed, he would be spoiled to within an inch of his life -- but more importantly, that he would be loved every second of every minute of every day.
Have a good life, my little one.
LeAnn R. Ralph
Saturday, July 08, 2006, 22:55
A Lively Day
What a lively afternoon it was here around Rural Route 2!
A friend of mine came to get three of the kittens down in the barn to take home with her. My friend's daughter, who lives in Alaska, is home for the next two weeks with her four children, and Grandma wanted kittens for the kids to hold and pet and take care of. My friend lives on a farm, but her mother cat did not have kittens this year, and the children were disappointed that Grandma did not have any kittens.
My friend brought four of her grandchildren as well as another little nephew who is two years old (she has eight grandchildren all together).
The place hasn't been that lively in years. Children running up and down the hill to the barn, chattering and laughing and giggling.
Isabelle did not know WHAT to make of the whole thing. To my knowledge, she's never been around children.
Kajun, who has had some experience with children, was at "high alert" and about as alarmed as I've ever seen him. He didn't want a thing to do with coming up to the fence to see them, but instead, ran around with his tail up, snorting a warning that I'm sure deer could detect for miles around. (Deer snort in the same way to indicate they are alarmed and that other deer should be on the look-out for danger.)
Isabelle, after her initial surprise at so much commotion, was delighted to find out that CHILDREN KNOW HOW TO PICK GRASS AND CLOVER BLOSSOMS -- AND THAT THEY WILL *FEED* HER GRASS AND CLOVER BLOSSOMS.
That was all it took for Isabelle. A few tufts of grass. A couple of clover blossoms. And she was willing to follow those kids anywhere.
As for the kittens, they were not quite sure what was happening. We put them in a box -- that had holes in the end for fresh air -- and taped the cover on the box so they would stay safely in the box until they got home. My friend was planning to put them in a rabbit cage at first so they would not scamper off and hide and get lost and not know where they belonged.
I probably ought to find a few more kids to laugh and talk and squeal and run around the yard now and then. I don't want Isabelle to grow up thinking that life is always so quiet as it around here much of the time.
LeAnn R. Ralph