Gingersnap

by | Jun 7, 2023

This blog entry is dedicated to all my cats, past present and future. Thank you for being in my
life and bringing me purpose and helping me to grow.

Gingersnap

Many years ago in a densely wooded area lived a pack of feral cats. They were all different colors,black,white, gray, tortoiseshell, tabby and orange. They kept growing and their population grew branching out towards the neighborhood backyards out of control. One day a nice lady who fed the wild cats from her backyard called the local shelter to capture the cats to get them all fixed. It took many weeks with many volunteers but finally over 100 cats were captured and released. Many of the cats were very pregnant with many kittens, so they had to go to the shelter to give birth. The day came and the tiny kittens were pushed out. They were very small and many were different colors.One of the kittens was an orange and white medium haired tabby mix. Another was a mix of tortoise shell and tan tabby, another black and white. The feral mothers and father cats were spayed/ neutered and released back into the wild. All the kittens were adopted out. After few years a young girls family had moved back into her old neighborhood. She had been growing up with animals after living overseas. Her father was just transferred back to the area because of a new job. She was lonely and longed for a pet. A neighbor’s cat just had kittens across the way. She picked up a black and white one. This was her first cat. She pleaded with her parents that she would take good care of it and was true to her word. They finally agreed to let the kitten into the house. The young girl had many loving times with her new kitten. They supported each other when life stresses became tough. The young girl grew up into an adult and soon married. She moved away into an apartment with her husband and was able to bring her cat with her. Her husband adjusted to this new life with animals. The young woman adopted her cats from the local no kill shelters. Each kitten or cat’s love helped the young women with the many transitions of life. The cats all seemed to have a heart bond with her, including when she first became a mom for the first time. When her first born son had passed away, her cats were there to help with her pain. There were many cats throughout their marriage. Each one was adopted from an animal shelter and seemed to have a purpose. They all learned from each other. The young mom had other special needs children too who had their own challenges. In a dream one night she heard a cat crying and knew the end was near for her beloved cat.
She got out of bed lay down where the cat was curled up and cried herself to sleep. Her beloved cat had just passed away a few days earlier. She was grieving and needed another cat and wasn’t sure what to get. She decided to check out the local no kill animal shelter and saw a tortoise shell tabby mix with a white splash on it. She was curled up and scared in a tent in the cattery. This was a young cat with extra toes and ½ a tail who had been adopted out as a young kitten but returned after a few years. The wife’s heart was breaking when she saw the cat, and decided to bring her husband and children to meet her. It took a long time for the new cat to adjust to her new family, she chose a new name.A few years later a young mother a black and white kitten was waiting at the shelter, who turned out be be a great birthday present for the wife. The new kitten was a great companion for her other cat. On the wife’s bucket list was to study for her bat mitzvah as a adult along with her younger special needs son for over 10 years. She had never been to hebrew school but was amazed how her middle son who had speech neurological issues was able to tackle and achieve his many years earlier. It was a lot of hard work for both mother and sons over 18 months of studying. The torah passage was not the usual one read it was very special. The wife had asked the congregation and friends to donate animal food and people food as a gift donation in the invitations. Many weeks before the wife had a very strange dream. She saw a orange tabby kitten in a dream, calling to her. Her joint bat/bar mitzvah with her son was coming up the next week and everyone was excited. This is what she had been studying for with her sons. The weekend came and everything went off with a few glitches. That next week it was Thanksgiving. She had just dropped off the people food donations from the family celebration to the food pantry. Now the family was going to animal shelter to give the animal donations. On a whim she asked about the cattery floor and went to see the cats. In the first room there was a few cats, but she was looking for the one she dreamed about. In the next room there she was in a cage. She was just surrendered with a few mats on her. There were no papers yet, small and beautiful. It was a match in heaven. The young kitten was very playful but also scared because of her past. As a young kitten she was adopted into a family where a very young child didn’t know how to play appropriately with animals and was abused. She had run away and was found by another family and surrendered at the shelter. This would be a new experience too for the mom. She put a hold on her and brought back her sons to meet her. It was an adjustment for all including her other older cats. She needed a new name. After bringing her home the new cat began to sneeze. It would be a while until all the the cats would be introduced. The kitten was under quarantine, the shelter was not able to get back to her in time at her house since it was Thanksgiving. Quickly she brought her to the local animal hospital. Immediately the kitten was brought into the hospital she was shaking and had a 105 fever. The mother had kept in touch with the shelter letting them know what had happened. Luckily since the mom hadn’t had the kitten spayed, the shelter would be picking up some of the quoted tab cost of three thousand dollars. What a relief. After three days her fever went down. The kitten was eating and on the right track and was released from the hospital. The mother took care of giving the kitten her medication and eventually introducing her to her older companions. Slowly the kitten became acclimated to her other sisters, and was spayed. She has a sweet and sassy side which keeps everyone on her toes. Her son’s love to play with all of the cats. The new addition brings a younger energy to everyone and makes us all laugh. As the new kid on the block, thank you for bringing laughter back into our house and love.

 

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