The Good, The Bad, and The Kitten
On Friday the 23'rd of September, we had a new addition to our family. Well, we didn't know it at the time, but we did.
It all started when I went out to the back yard to check on the tri-tip I was barbecuing. I stepped out the glass door, down the three cement steps to the small sidewalk that connects my house to the driveway, and stepped toward the barbecue.
I was greeted by a small black and grey striped tabby cat who had been attracted by the smell of meat grilling. It was very small, about three months old by the size, had big green eyes, and very little meat on its bones. It had obviously been abandoned and was not so good at hunting for a living.
As I stood there, wondering if this cat had rabies, or was feral, or if it was going to jump up on my barbecue and knock over my bowl of seasonings, the cat trotted up to me with its tail straight in the air and rubbed against my leg, purring. I know enough about cats to know that this means, "Hello, I love you, feed me."
So, I looked down at its big eyes, (did I mention they're green?) and said "You're just too friendly aren't you?" Then I flipped my tri-tip, went back into the house, and told Annette. She was out immediately to take a look at it. Before I could voice any of my concerns about rabies, stray cats, etc. she scooped it up, flipped it on its back, and proclaimed "It's a boy." and "Go upstairs and get some cat food will you?"
The kitten ate half a cup of dry food in the first five minutes. I was afraid he was going to have trouble keeping it down, considering he probably hadn't eaten in days. To my surprise, he got up from his meal and rubbed against me asking for more.
By this time, we had to start greeting people for our friday night game gathering, so Annette and I made sure he had more food and water, and went back into the house. I left the garage door open, because I had the inkling that our guest would be staying for a while. There are a couple of nearly wild chihuahua mix dogs on our block, and I wanted the kitten to have somewhere safe to run.
When I went back out to get our dinner, I didn't see him anywhere, so I mentioned it to Annette. It wasn't very long before She, I, and a couple of our friends were out back making "kitty kitty" noises looking for the creature. Annette had just about determined that he'd gone walk-about, when he trotted out of the garage, looked at me, then went over to his empty bowl. "Again? you must be starving. I'll get some more food."
"We should keep him in the garage, I can check in at the animal shelter on Monday" Annette spoke to me while holding him in her arms. I had yet to pick him up, and had barely scratched the top of his head at this point. I did not want to get attached to this kitten. Did I mention he has green eyes?
