A few days ago Baby Dumpling decided that Kate had left her and moved in with someone else. This made her a little sad, maybe not as much as it bothered both my wife and I. We didn't want Baby Dumpling to think that Kate didn't like her, Kate loved Baby Dumpling. We didn't say anything to Baby Dumpling because we wanted to think about what is the right thing to say and figure out the right way to say it. As the day went on Baby Dumpling didn't mention it anymore so we didn't feel the need to address the issue.
That afternoon when Baby Dumpling woke from her nap, she recalled everything that happened to Kate. She remembered that Kate was seriously hurt in the back and she put flowers then said goodbye. Baby Dumpling did this on her own, we didn't encourage or force her to face reality. Although it was very sad and heartbreaking to watch Baby Dumpling come to the realization that Kate was gone, it was also a relief. Still the tears and sad face was very difficult to handle, but that is part of the healing process. After a little while Baby Dumpling decided that we needed to go buy another cat, an orange cat. I don't know where she got the idea about buying a cat let alone an orange one, but I told her that we'll look at the shelter to see if they have an orange cat that needs a home.
I didn't see anything online from the local shelter so I went to the Noah shelter webpage. They didn't appear to have an orange cat either, but I told Baby Dumpling that we will go the next day and try to find an orange cat. Later that night I decided to check the craig's list to see if there was an orange cat that someone was trying to find a home for. As luck would have it there was an orange kitten that was dumped then rescued by a very nice caring family. Actually there was a litter of kittens that were dumped, and this family rescued them, took the kittens to get their shots as well as have them fixed. They were able to find homes for all but 2 kittens. The owner of their building was insisting they find homes soon for the remaining kittens as quickly as possible.
After taking the drive north to the Noah shelter and having Baby Dumpling look at all the cats they had, she didn't find one that she was especially attached too. She was willing to take all of them because they needed a home and someone to take care of them, especially the white one with the broken ear. But her heart was set on an orange cat.
I contacted the family that had the orange cat and although they lived very far away, much further north than the Noah shelter, I decided to take the drive. When we arrived we discovered that the orange cat was actually a kitten, about 5 months, and he had a cream colored brother. At first we only took the orange cat, and the family gave us his shot record. When we got back to the van and got everyone in their seats my wife and I started talking about the orange kitten's brother. We didn't really want 2 kittens, but we didn't have the heart to split them up. I went back, which might have made this nice family think that I changed my mind and I was returning the orange kitten, but this was not the case. I told them that we don't have the heart to split the 2 brothers apart so we'll take them both. The family almost gave me their last cat carrier because I was unprepared for 2 kittens, they gave away their extra carrier with the first kitten that found a home, but I felt they had already done so much for these kittens we'll have to manage with the small carrier and the long drive home.
Once we made it home I discovered that I was still unprepared. It's been a very long time, before Baby Dumpling was born, since we had a cat that used a litter box, Kate went outside. So the litter box I had was cracked, I also didn't have kitten food. We managed, I used duct tape to fix the crack in the box, but a box with a plastic trash bag under that. I had canned food for the kittens to eat and if they didn't like that I was prepared to fix them some boiled chicken liver. I figured I just need to get through the night and visit Wal-mart the next day. The first night went fairly well. It turns out the cream kitten, C.C., is quite the cuddle bug and although the orange kitten, O.C., is a little more reserved he does like to be held and petted. Baby Dumpling is very excited about having O.C. and C.C., she collected some of the cat toys, and string from various places around the house so the kittens can have something to play with.
I suspect that the healing process is well underway for all of us. My wife and I also feel that bringing both kittens home was the right thing to do for us, the nice family, and the kittens.
