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KAS
1664 Memorial Drive
PO Box 462
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
802-741-PETS (7387)
| A Time for Healing - 2 kitten's story |
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The journey from abandonment to adoption can sometimes be a long road for many animals. The fortunate ones are helped along in their journey by kind and compassionate folks who foster our cats and kittens, like Jim & Polly. The following is a record of one such journey. This is the story of Shadow and his sister, Willow. It's believed they were tossed from a moving car and sought shelter under a porch. They were thought to be feral, but it seems they were extremely frightened and distrusting of humans, particularly men. Willow had a broken leg, which was surgically repaired with pins by Dr. Lisa Whitney of Danville Animal Hospital. Jim & Polly: Day 6 – August 11
Shadow had a great day and was playing most of the late afternoon and evening until bedtime. Mia was outside and meowed to be let in. When Shadow heard her, he immediately (and literally) threw himself at the door either to let me know or in a protective mode until Mia was let in. He kissed, rubbed and hugged her until Mia washed his face and put her paws around him. Quite the pair! He is highly intelligent and wanders/explores his environment far more and earlier than either of our two previous foster kittens. He seems advanced for his age and learns quickly how to get his needs met. When Jim was watching TV tonight, Shadow jumped up on the couch and lay on his chest, rhythmically rising and falling with his breathing, demanding to be handled, kissed his nose, pushed under his hand and generally felt he was in charge of getting his needs met! He was happy to remain there for some time and eventually jumped down to join Mia for another facial.
Day 7 – August 12
Shadow’s sister came home today. She traveled identically to her brother in silence and backed into a corner of the cage. Dr. Lisa gave instructions that she be caged, no play and meds for pain no longer needed. She will go back on the 19th to have her stitches removed and then again in five weeks for the removal of the pins. I expect she will be with us through the end of September before being fully ready for adoption. Upon arriving home, I placed the cage on the floor and Shadow immediately tried to enter the cage in any way he could, climbing all over and around it. I opened the door and both immediately greeted each other and kissing for a time. When I took the female upstairs, she engaged in hissing and spitting, pacing her cage, spilling her water and wanted nothing to do with me or her surroundings. She oddly seemed most comfortable sitting in her litter box. Shadow was pacing outside the cage with her in solidarity. This kitten will take much more time, as the trauma experienced by her was not only psychological but physical as well. She is clearly damaged in many ways and will take constant handling and encouragement before trust is seen. Siblings as humans are expected to bond, but with animals such as these, it’s instinctual. There are no familial expectations so common to humans, just an inner sense of attachment that we may find refreshing and even envy. Animals do what they must to bond and attach; we find examples in our world of divorce, abandonment and the like as excuses to expel that which we find uncomfortable. I look at Shadow and his sister and see despite the damage they’ve experienced and the obvious inability of one kitten to play or interact with the other, each accepts their sibling for who they are and without reservation or prejudice. We could learn a valuable lesson should we choose to accept delivery.
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