Just as I wavered over whether to-keep-or-not-to-keep, the following poem showed up on NPR's Writer's Almanac, like some kind of divine intervention:
Picking the Kitten
You had to hold it awhile in your hand.
It was important to look into the box
of blind fur and notice who needed you.
Not the one who chased its tail,
not the one who slept in a corner
with an air of indifference. There were
colors and markings to consider.
Which would you want to find
on your pillow? The one I took home
was warm as fever. I held her purr
in my pocket, her roughness on my
bedroom rug. I pour out this memory
the way I poured out her evening cream.
"Picking the Kitten" by Faith Shearin, from Moving the Piano. © Stephen F. Austin State University Press, 2011.
Dammit NPR!
uh oh. i know if it were me, i'd have had to keep mama cat, knowing the kittens would have a better chance to get adopted.
ReplyDeleteI loved Hester Prynne. The shelter tells me the 2 black&whites will be the last to go, though. Hester is a fabulous-looking Siamese mix in a sea of black cats at the shelter right now; they're holding her back b/c she has to get over a case of mastitis before she can be adopted. Hester's beauty & affectionate personality will take her far, so I'm not worried at all about her.:)
Deletei like the new header photo of your boys. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's so red-looking, but I didn't do a thing to it. Just the way the fields look right now.
DeleteOh, dear, what a dilemma! They are so dadgum cute!
ReplyDeleteI know! Note to self: remember... they grow up to be cats.
DeleteAmazing. I am allergic to cats, as I am sure I have written dozens of times, but these little sweet things are gems.
ReplyDeletePhotogenic little monkeys, aren't they? Too bad about your allergy. You would make a good home for a needy kitten.
DeleteI suspect your dogs saw "the writing on the wall" a while ago. It was a black and white kitten that introduced me to my husband, in a roundabout way.A few years later the planets aligned again and Mistral became our cat. Cats and destiny....nothing you can do to resist.
ReplyDeleteER, the dogs have very different views of this. Reub completely ignores them & wants zero contact. Eddy is totally obsessed & can't stop wondering about them; he wants to play with them, lick them, watch them, and just generally be a nuisance.
DeleteI think you're right about the Hand of Fate with regards to cats.
I doubt that beautiful poem made it any easier to select a kitten.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about that. But it did give me a little nudge, one that whispered, "pick a kitten..."
DeleteThere can be no runner-up. And right now it's a tie for first place.
tough choice!
ReplyDeleteI would offer you one Ellen, but I know you have kittens in your family already.
DeleteThe kittens are adorable Kerry, but your photos are really lovely. They look so shiny clean, soft and purrrfect.
ReplyDeleteSheryl B! Thank you. I'd send you a kitten but I doubt your Jack Russell would approve!
DeleteSadly we are not ready to adopt again quite yet, our darling Rose passed a mere week ago ... but if we were that little black/white one that was biting the binding? he/she would be my pick ... our 4 yr old orange tabby Jack could use someone to play with
ReplyDeleteAfter you lose a beloved pet you have to take some time. Time to breathe and remember.
DeleteYour pick is also my pick.
Well, I think I know which one you picked, but I love the look of the black one with the mask face. Ah, so long since I've had a cat. MY WIFE is allergic, so no cat for over 20 years. It's a fair trade, but I do miss holding a purr.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'd call that a pretty decent trade. On most days I think a spouse > a cat.
DeleteThe tuxedo cat... well, I would have had a hard time choosing which one I would want to keep, I would want to keep them ALL! But tuxedo cats hold a special place in my heart so I would have leaned towards her. Aw.
ReplyDeleteHi FB! There are reasons to keep each of the kitties, but you're right about Little Tux. She's tied for 1st place. The last pic tells all.
DeleteSo will you be picking one? It must be so hard to say goodbye, I hope they find good homes.
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca! No, probably not one. It's looking like two.:)
DeleteI couldn't be a foster cat parent because in the end I could not return any of them.
ReplyDeleteLaoch, through this experience of fostering I now understand how people become animal hoarders.
DeleteHi Kerry
ReplyDeleteThe kittens have grown to cute furry balls. Difficult decision to send them to foster homes.Incidentally I reached Boise on 27th evening.Today we drove to Salt Lake City Utah.will return on Sunday evening to Boise.
Cheers Ram
Welcome to the Northwest! How is the jet lag? I hope you have a wonderful visit, and let me know if you come to this part of Oregon, ok?
DeleteI went to the Humane Society to look for my first cat, which I knew was going to be named Larry and be gray. A freckled arm shot out at me and I picked up its owner and deposited it in my palm while I looked over the rest of the kittenry for my gray kitty. I was petting absently all the while, and when I'd made the rounds, I looked down and discovered a freckled belly. She had turned over for maximum belly rubbage. "So you're Larry," I said. I was so smitten that for months I couldn't stop talking about her. One bored listener finally asked me, in all seriousness, "how long have you and Larry been married?"
ReplyDelete*Laughing at you* !! I relate to this story of yours! I can't shut up about the foster kittens!
DeleteIt's true that animals pick us at least as often as we pick them.