Just one month has passed since I shared the news about my feline foster family — an adolescent mom and her six kittens — but it feels like a lifetime ago based on how much they have grown and developed.
Nature truly is astounding!
The time will soon come for my shelter to screen prospective adopters — and for the babies to leave for their forever homes. I am currently steeling myself for a number of difficult goodbyes.
Cat-loving friends tease me daily about the likelihood of my keeping one of the kittens for myself, and as tempting as that may be, I know it would be a very bad idea. (Max and Aidan are pictured below, so you can see just how adorably tempting they are.)
I feel that my home is at its maximum with four adult cats living with me. Adding even one more wouldn’t be a kindness, but instead a burden on the happiness and quality of life of my cats, who are all between the ages of seven and 12.
I fully realize my cats are far too old and “wise” to tolerate the antics of a frolicking kitten. I feel that new homes with more action — and gentle children! — might be a better fit for them, too.
And this is how I rationalize the attachment (and subsequent detachment) to myself: It’s better for us; it’s better for them. Wish me luck in the coming month because surely by my next note to our readers, I will have said farewell to a few — and will be enjoying my last days of a home office brimming full of kittens.
Elizabeth Vecsi
Executive Editor
