Leaving the Nest
If you have been following Pearl's tale, you know a bit about our adventures with cat rescue. In brief, we had watched a starving cat come and go in the yard for some time. First, she looked pregnant. Then, she just looked terribly, terribly thin. We began feeding her on the porch, picking up the food at night in case raccoons came along. In the morning, I would put the food out again — and Pearl (as we called her, being pearl gray and all) would come running. One morning, I stretched out my hand to her and was amazed to find her rubbing all around me, purring, tail in the air. Clearly, she wasn’t feral.
Later that day, she led us to her kittens. They were in an old storage yard, two doors down from us. I won’t bore you with all the details again, but we did manage, after some time, to tempt Pearl to bring her babies to our house. She did, all four kittens. And we made a nursery for them in a small room upstairs.
Then began the process of socialization.
Pearl wasn’t feral — but her kittens were. They had never known human touch at all. At first, every time we entered the room, they fled in abject terror. It took time and patience, but we handled them as much as we could. And, at ZenTrainer’s suggestion, we left a radio on in the room, playing NPR all day, so they would become familiar with human voices.
Before we let Pearl mingle with our other cats, we had her tested for the usual communicable diseases and were delighted to learn that she was healthy. Then we separated her from the kittens for a week. Well, we let her visit them, but we didn’t let them nurse from her. The object was to get her milk to dry up so that she could be spayed. After a week, we took Pearl and all four kittens to the Oregon Humane Society for spaying and neutering.
Once this was done, the kittens were ready to find new homes. One of the females, the one we called Coquette, was the first to go. She was adopted by one of the men who had recently upgraded our phone lines. He sent us a photo — and boy, Coquette looked like she was in a very good place.
The next to go was the little boy we called White Nose. He was adopted by a mother and son in the neighborhood — and I tell you, that kitten is the apple of that little boy’s eye. He absolutely adores him.
We waited another week with no good leads for the remaining two kittens. We did not want to chance placing them through Craig’s list or other listings because we wanted to be sure that the people who adopted them would be committed to care for them. Accordingly, we felt our best option was to have the the Oregon Humane Society place them — because we knew that the adoptive people would be well vetted and, because they would be paying a $150 fee for the kittens, very serious. Each kitten got a listing on the OHS website. Here is the listing for the female, Shy Shy. Although we were hoping she and her brother would be adopted together, she went home first, just a day after being listed. Her brother, Cream Toe, was adopted the next day. We were so glad that he wasn’t left alone for long.
Pearl cried outside the nursery door for one day. Then, accepting that the kittens were gone, she finally gave herself permission to be a kitten, herself. At the time of spaying, Pearl was estimated to be only nine months old. That means she got pregnant very, very young — about five months old. Yes, cats can get pregnant that young — that’s why it is important to get them spayed early. Today, Pearl is kicking up her heels in our home, chasing back and forth with Callie, and exploring everything. For one so young, she had discharged some heavy responsibility with aplomb and now it is her time. She is a delightful cat and we are so glad she chose our home as her own.
But it is sad to reflect that someone had abandoned Pearl. Someone had left her to fend for herself. She had to struggle to feed herself on the street and then to feed her kittens, too. She suffered, poor thing. And she is not alone. Even though it is illegal in Oregon to abandon a pet, people do so all the time. I worry that our recent housing emergency here in Portland has affected more beings than just the displaced people. People who have to leave an apartment because of rising rents may also leave their pets behind. It isn’t kind, it isn’t legal, but when people are pushed to the wall, innocent animals may, and often do, suffer on the streets.
What you can do
If you can, adopt a pet from a shelter. You will save a life.
If your pet is not yet spayed or neutered, get that done! Don’t wait!
Support your local animal rescue groups. They do such important work.
Enquiring minds want to know: Cecil the Grocery Store Cat — was he the Daddy of Pearl’s kittens?
And now, in other Catnip Chronicle news, Cecil the Cat was banned from our local Safeway store (well, maybe not “banned” — but Safeway said he is a non-service animal and therefor not allowed). Cecil’s large and vociferous public objected and the edict has been softened somewhat, this being Portland. Personally I have seen Cecil many times in the Safeway parking lot but never actually in the store. That being said, I have not got up close and personal enough with Cecil to see if he has been fixed. But I’ve got to say, Cecil sure looks like he could be Pearl’s kittens’ daddy — and he certainly lives close enough to us to have had the opportunity. Click the link and check out the pictures of Cecil...you will see what I mean! Or go to Cecil’s Facebook page...srsly. Were Pearl’s kittens sired by this famous (or infamous) cat? We will never know — but we wonder.
Pootie Pads — with Secret Santa list
Even though the kittens have gone to their forever homes, your kindness in buying Pootie Pads has really helped us out with our rescue project. Cat food and litter really added up, let me tell you! We are grateful for your purchases of our Pootie Pads (extraordinarily potent, organic catnip pads for cats) for a little while longer. And hey, it is the holiday season! Consider treating your cats to some of our catnip -- or buy one as the purrfect gift for the cat owner in your life.
Pootie Pads come in three sizes. Fabric choices for original and petitie sizes are here - or let us choose for you.
Original: 23" x 17"
Petite: 13.5" x 9.5"
Play Size (let us choose for you): 8" x 4.5
We also have Pootie Pads for dogs -- filled with soothing organic lavender and thyme. You can find the dog pads here.
Secret Santa Wishlist
Message me or make a comment below if you would like to send a gift from our shop to one of the Kossacks listed below — or participate in a group gift (sharing the cost). Also, let me know if anyone should be added to the list! I will update it!
Poz — 2 original sized Pootie Pads ($60 + $11.50 shipping)
Chrislove — 1 original size Pootie Pad
($30 + $5.75 shipping)