Change Is Coming

 I am happy to report that the two kittens Mama cat decided to take under the shed survived! They showed up two days ago all little and furry with huge blue eyes. Enchanting as they were, the solid gray bit of fluff hissed wildly at any attempt to pick it up. The little thing is so pretty with long fluffy fur and big eyes that sparkle against the color of the fur. They are only 4, maybe 5 weeks old. 

Mama cat, who has lost her previous name of Prego, for obvious reasons has become quite friendly. She will come very close and beg for food, even letting her head be patted. So here she was with two little ones now. I gave up on taming the hissing kitten and only had a glimpse of the gray and white kitten.

All day long my husband tried to lure the kittens and Mama into the screened porch as the rain beat down. Shortly before bedtime, he came in with the multicolored kitten snuggled to his chest. I immediately took the kitten from him and kissed the tiny head. So soft and sweet. The kitten seemed quite happy to be held and was purring before long.

I was quite smitten, I admit. Eddie was not. Bo was curious and wanted to sniff the new arrival. The kitten was so laid back that the appearance of what had to look like a giant dog face so close seemed not to bother it at all. The little face is not as striking as the hissing sibling, but it does have a hardly visible "M" on the forehead ..... like my Martha, the boy cat had.

The rain continued to beat down, and it was chilly out. I said the kitten needed to go back out with Mama and sibling. Drew, my husband proclaimed that it would freeze to death. I countered with the fact that the kitten was acclimated to the weather outdoors, after all wasn't she just outside? "But she was shivering and wet!" said the big old softy he is.

I announced that I would be going to bed and that kitty could not sleep on my shoulder, since I already have two bed buddies demanding my attention and affection. Eddie tried to bite the kitty, just because he could. No provocation from kitty, other than being the center of attention. We all should know by now that Eddie is the center of attention and how dare another try to take his place!

The man went outside to the porch and commandeered a storage tote that he lined with a towel and put the kitty to bed. I noted that kitty would feel very alone without the mama and the sibling. He told me he put the bin on the table, and I assumed it was the table on the porch ...

I was slumbering sweetly, a state I seldom find myself in, when a yowl awakened me. Eddie sat at attention on the foot of the bed and Bo was eagerly running up and down the very short hall of our tiny home to alert me that a kitten did cry.

I dragged my weary bones out of the warm covers and went to the bathroom, then, noting the silence of the house, I crawled back into the cocoon of warmth. Just as sleep was approaching, the yowling started up again. If that little kitten was on the porch and could be heard inside, shouldn't Mama be trying to gain entry to the porch to rescue it? I wakened the deaf man beside me to go tend to the matter. After all, this confinement was his idea and I shouldn't have to take care of his idea, should I?

He returned sooner than I expected and when asked what he did to quiet the kitten and was told he simply picked it up and petted it. Wasn't long before the baby cat made more noise. Resigned to the fact that I had been tending his life for over 50 years and change does not come easily to a man spoiled by his mother, then me.

The kitten was not out on the porch, but right there in the kitchen on the table we eat on. The kitten would stop yowling when it heard feet on the floor. Resigned to the fate of caretaker, I located the replacement formula that did not save the kitten I chose and made a little saucer for kitty to lap up. Nice and warm, kitty ate its fill and snuggled into the fold of the towel and went to sleep.

In the morning, I fed kitty again and then went out to find Mama and sibling. Sibling was in one of my flower beds, hiding under the remaining vegetation. I put my little charge down and watched as it scampered over to join its sibling. Mama came up shortly after and I went back in to change my wet socks.

Kitty shall remain under the care of Mama for now. There is a reason puppies and kittens should be 8 weeks old before being adopted. They need the nurturing provided by Mama until then and I am willing to wait.

Meanwhile, I have two dogs in my lap, each demanding attention. Each one requires a hand to stroke fur while I murmur my love to them. They seem needier than usual. They know a change is coming.