So, I've had this dilemma brewing in my brain for the last several weeks. Of course, it involves an animal...without a home at the time and I'm praying he has one now.
When we came home from our honeymoon a couple weeks back, there was a kitten running around our yard. Since the neighbor had moved, we knew it wasn't hers, and he was so tiny, well...you can figure out that within a couple days, we had him in the kitchen sink, bathing the fleas off him. Some of them looked as big as he was.
He was totally comfortable around us and liked the attention. He didn't mind the rest of our brood, either. In fact, he really just ignored them. He meowed at the door to go out and he knew when feeding time was. Overall, he was pretty well-adjusted. Chris and I discussed it and the answer was clear: we had to find him a good home. I knew he was a cutie and too hard to pass up, but I had to get on the ball with finding him a new home.
In the meantime, the neighbor that had moved had stopped by and we were talking and I mentioned the cat. She said the neighbors up the street gave him to someone down the street because they, too, were moving. Of course, the people who took the kitten just turned him loose to fend for himself...that's how we up with our other two "kittens." *Now they are two-year-olds with a great home, spayed and neutered. I assumed we would have this little ball of energy neutered and then hopefully place him in a good home.
Well, one Sunday, that all changed. Some new folks moved in up the street and they were walking around the neighborhood. It was a pleasant day for early September and we even had our windows open. I had the kitten in the house, but he was meowing at the door to go out, so I gave in. A minute or so later, Chris comes up to me and says, "Those people have that kitten." I shrugged it off because he is so friendly. But, he never came back after that.
Now...what am I supposed to think? I have to assume that they took him, but since he wasn't mine any more than he was anyone else's, I can't exactly walk up to them and say, "Can I have that cat back?" The one thing we do know is that he is no longer in the neighborhood. I guess someone from the family took him with them when they left. I would never dream of doing something like that without asking or checking around...ugh! The worst part is, I had found a home for the little guy and had a vet appointment already scheduled for him.
I guess I have to chalk this one up to "I'll never know" and go on. I hope they are good cat-loving people and I hope the little guy lucked out. He sure was a cutie and I do have to say I miss him a lot.
