When you all bring in a cat or kittens,  we are usually pretty good about finding them a loving home.

Sometimes I feel a connection though, and I find myself thinking...Maybe I can add one more cat to the household.

Mary is of no help on this issue, since she is convinced we must keep each cat or kitten we touch or feed. 

So the usual dynamic is this...we have a litter of kittens or a sweet older cat surrendered and I mention it to Mary, usually along with the story of how it got to us. She says awwwww and that we HAVE to take this one. I remind her that we already have 3 cats and 4 dogs and several of them are getting older and need more attention.  After a few days I usually win, mainly because our house is about the size of the clinic and one more pet can so easily upset the (precarious) apple cart.

It is of course a fool's victory.

3 weeks ago we received a frantic call from a client that I have known since my time at Broadway
 Vet Clinic. When I met her, she was in her early 20's and was engaged. Now she is married and has two kids. Weird how she got so much older yet I didn't.

Each day she walks, and this particular morning she heard a mewing in the bushes. She looked and found a tiny kitten. There was no other kittens around.

There was no mother.

 She wrapped it up and brought it home. She called Kindred Spirits worried about two things...

#1) what do you feed a teeny kitten

#2) how could she get this kitten out of her house before the kids came home and fell in love with it.

Same answer for both questions...bring it in!

The team was particularly silent went it came to volunteer for night duty nursing this kitten, so I brought it home.  Turns out it was about 3 weeks old and still needed bottle feeding.  Gizmo looked at the kitten alertly, concerned about the little squeaky voice. He has a particular interest in the little kittens, and honestly I'm not sure whether he is a natural born mother, or whether he wants to remove the squeaker like he does on all of his toys. I'm not finding out...but he is our companion on the late night feedings...albeit at arm's length.

Mary was convinced we needed this kitten.  Now, Mary will be reading this email, so I'll resist the temptation to say that in her debate to keep the kitten she reminded me a little of that EHarmony cat girl. 

Anyway, 3 days into Camp Hanks/Jude I was watching American's Got Talent with the kitten (Chloe) on my chest.  She was hunting imaginary prey on my chest and attacking my pajama bottoms.  She was convinced my toes were small bite sized mice. I stuck my tongue out at her. She raced from my toes to my mouth. I got my tongue in just in time but she jumped up and batted on my cheeks. I burst out laughing. She fell over, shocked by the sudden noise eminating from my mouse hole.

I think that was the moment she became part of the family. This kitten will not be leaving. We NEED her. 

Now Mary heats up a rice sock everynight when she goes to bed and she lays on it like a princess. Each morning we take her out and she chases imaginary prey. Earlier today she attacked a lobster pot. The lid tilted in and she disappeared inside. Leaping from the darkness she knocked the top off, clanking loudly beside her.

 She jumped, whipped around and attacked the lid, then scurried off, jumping on Gizmo's face on the way out.

Seriously, this is fun.

This is how God does it you know. He gives the baby ones big cute heads and teaches them antics. No matter who you are, watching these baby things softens you and makes you laugh.  In fact, I'm pretty sure kittens could be the cure for many modern maladies...

Have High blood pressure-get a kitten

Depression-get a kitten

Bleeding disorder-don't get a kitten

Too much of a couch potato-get a kitten

I'm thinking there is something here. In the old days doctors had closets filled with drugs brought by pharmaceutical reps. Take out the Beta blockers, the Abilify, the thyroid meds...I'll fill the room with kittens in baskets.

So today I'm not telling you about any hard luck stories. But I'm telling you that your next, because I just took Chloe. Start thinking which of you 1000 or so awesome friends of mine can take in another cat. You'll never get a better deal. You will be helping a cat in need. The cat will have its initial vaccines, be spayed or neutered and tested for feline Leukemia and FIV. Plus, they will be dewormed, deflea-ed and deticked with Revolution.  And our fee here at Kindred Spirits for these cats is....Goose Egg.

All Because Mary has started and is getting donations to fund Friends of Kindred Spirits. With the money we raise we buy surgical materials and donate our time to spay and neuter.  It's a win-win.

But for now, Cloe is a win win.

At the end of the day, the bonds we form with our pets are among the most important relationships we will ever have in our lives.  Even if there are 8 of them strewn throughout the house. 

I love that you guys get this. I'm not encouraging you to have a bunch of animals, but I do know that you understand the connection that is made when you bring a pet into your life. Each relationship is different, just like each human relationship is different. But when push comes to shove, the relationships in our lives are what make it interesting.

...Sorry, I promised my self I wouldn't get emotional. Its just that they are so cute. I want to hug them all. But I can't hug them ALL...that would be crazy.