Let me start back in 2003. My boyfriend (now husband) and I had a serious conversation about how we expected our lives to go…purchase our own cars, buy a house, get married and adopt a dog. The agreement of adopting a dog came with two conditions. The first was that he got to name the dog, and I had to agree not to bring a cat into the family. As much of a cat lover I was, I did love dogs more; so I agreed. We got our puppy and had her for thirteen wonderful years. In the meantime, we got another puppy whom we still have now and is nine years old. I was always able to get my kitten and cat “fix” in at work, so the thought of having our own cat left my mind…until two months ago.
A friend of mine found a stray kitten under her porch. She was unable to keep the little guy as she had a dog who was not so fond of kitties. She was afraid that the dog would injure the kitten and asked for my help. So after our morning workout, I went to her place and fell in love. This kitten purred instantly and was craving attention. I took the kitten home, gave it a bath, fed it some canned food, de-wormed and treated him for fleas and ear mites. My plan was to try to find him a home.
The thought of keeping this little kitten never crossed my mind. I knew it had a great personality, so I would have an easy time finding him a forever home. Once my kids saw this tiny, helpless, little cat, they begged for us to keep it. I felt I had to keep my promise to my husband about not having a cat, and I had to tell them that we wouldn’t be able to keep him. I told them we could keep it at home for the day, but then I would be taking it to the clinic and finding it a home.
After a day of snuggles with my daughter, I could see this was going to be hard taking him away the next day. I had warned my husband with a text message that I had brought this kitten home, and it would be going to work with me the next day and not coming back. I had sent him a picture of the kitten and my daughter on the couch together, and the only response I got was, “Does it really have to be in the house?” When he came in and sat down, I handed him the kitten so they could meet. He sat in his chair, and the kitten snuggled right in. It started purring and fell asleep almost immediately. We discussed that I was going to try to find it a home, and it would live at the clinic until it was adopted.
The chair my husband was sitting in is near our patio door looking into the back yard. We live in a rural area and have farmland all around us. This year, we have a peanut crop growing behind our house. The last time we had peanuts growing there, we had a mouse problem in our house after the plants were harvested. Tell me what mice in the neighbourhood wouldn’t have wanted to live in the walls in our house with a peanut buffet right at their fingertips? I could see the wheels in motion in my husband’s mind as he pet the kitten in his lap and looked out at the peanut buffet. Then he said it…”I guess WE could keep this kitten…I don’t want to be chasing the mice away once the peanuts get harvested. So if he stays, he has a job.” I almost fell over. I never expected this little kitten to get to stay. And now, I could never imagine not having him. The kids love him, he’s become a great playmate to my 9-year-old dog, and I even catch my husband giving him extra pets when he thinks no one is watching.
So I guess it was just meant to be. It took 15.5 years for me to be so lucky to have a sweet little kitten come into our household, but it was worth the wait. Thanks for walking into our lives, Rocket. A stray that was just meant to be ours.
Written by: Brenda, Floor Manager/Lead RVT
