Head To Be Examined At a Later Date

It’s been my practice to wait at least a couple of weeks after losing a cat to an adoption before bringing in another, to give everyone in the Cosy Apartment - including myself - some breathing room, and to ensure that a spot remains open in case of a failed adoption. The latter, thanks to the rescue-group’s stringent interviewing process, is a rarity. And in Brazil’s case, we are giving him at least a month, probably two, rather than the usual fortnight, before we judge the success of the integration. For my part, I have little doubt that he will do well in his new home, given time.

This is by way of a prologue to explaining that in this instance there is not going to be a wait for those two months, or even two weeks. Two days, is more like it. More guests will be arriving tomorrow. Allow me to introduce Theodore and, below him, his sister Miss Chiff. (They are a few weeks older than they were in these photographs.)

You may recall Astrid, whom I trapped outside my apartment. She was adopted with one of her kittens, Dale. (Astrid’s injured eye is healing slowly and, though it will never look the way it did, and she may have some sight difficulties with it, she is prospering.) Another of her kittens, Raven, is on a trial-adoption. That leaves two: Theodore and Chiff.

Why are they coming to my apartment? For the same reason Aurora did: it’s far too crowded in their foster-home. That is where Emori and her second litter are living. Though they are not quite two weeks old, that brood is already trying to explore their world, which will mean in a very short time, six adventurers will be all over the house - well, room, until they are old enough to move about without supervision. As well, a stranger gave Emori’s foster-guardian another abandoned kitten, driving right up to the house and handing it over to her: not circumstances in which one could refuse. So that house is full, since Emori, her six babies and this new one doesn’t include the resident animals already there.

I hope that Thoedore and Miss Chiff will, together or singly, provide Auro with some fun and games; without Brazil, she is concentrating on driving Imogen crazy, and that is regrettable.

Six cats, three of them kittens, is not ideal for my home, but with so few people fostering, we have little choice. There has been an explosion of kittens in our community this year and, to judge from the internet, everywhere in North America. The number of times I read and hear of people who are looking for a cat who escaped its home and who was ‘just going to be spayed/neutered next week’ is absurd. Such a solution to cat over-population cannot wait.