Olivia was not quite 13 years old when we had to put her down. Her cancer, which came on suddenly, spread to her bones. She was miserable. Saying Goodbye was heartbreaking, especially for Holden. He sobbed uncontrollably. I didn't think we'd get another cat so soon. I wasn't sure how Olivia's sister, Chloe, would take to a new cat introduced too quickly. However, Holden's heartbreak seemed somewhat alleviated by the idea of a new kitten. So I went on Craig's list.
There at the top of the pets listings was the ad for all black poly dactyl 6 week old kittens. I called the number and a woman whose voice was raspy from years of smoking answered the other end. There were 5 kittens available and she'd be home all day. I called the vet and made an appointment for 1:30, then I called the raspy voiced woman and said we'd be there at 1:00.
I then realized that meant that Griffin and Laurel wouldn't be napping. Oh well, so they'll be hyper and horrible. At 12:30 I loaded all four kids into the car and we drove over to the raspy voiced woman's house .
I unloaded the kids at the house which was 3 different shades of green. We rang the bell and the stereotype of " crazy cat lady" arrived at the door. She carefully opened the screen with her dragon length long gray nails. Her greasy hair , which was carefully parted in the middle , lay in two straight planks on either side of her face. Her clothing was colorless and shapeless. Her voice was somehow more raspy in person. The kids barged on in, undeterred by the horrendous cat smell. Hey, a new adventure, lets make ourselves at home!
Cat Lady led us down a dank and narrow hallway to a small bathroom where the quasi feral cats had been barricaded. A plank of wood prevented them from escaping and kept them confined to a small area next to the toilet. The bathtub was smeared with small kitten prints of poop. The mother cat hissed as though she'd never seen a human before. Laurel and Griffin suddenly realized kittens were in there and started yelling " A CAT! A CAT! A KITTY! LOOOOOOK! CAT! CAT!" which didn't seem to aid in calming the already stressed litter. The mom cat disappeared, happy to abandon her litter when faced with human interaction. Two of the kittens tried to hiss menacingly, but I am unfazed by 3 ounces of pure venom. I picked up one of the kittens who was huddled next to a sibling. He had a sweet face and he trembled in fear as I held him. The stench was starting to get to me and we had a vet appointment to keep. I gave Cat Lady her money and we headed off to the vet with Paddington, our new kitten.
Holden's mood changed abruptly from distraught and inconsolable to pure delight as he sat next to Paddington on our short drive to Corte Madera.
We arrived at the vet and Paddington was examined and dewormed. The vet asked several questions about the feral nature of the mom etc and I explained that not only had the kittens clearly not been socialized , but the woman selling them had not been socialized either, the entire household seemed a bit feral.
The kids all fell apart and could not even pull it together to watch Nemo in the the waiting room. I took them out to the car and the vet brought Paddington out when he was ready.
Paddington remained pretty fearful for that first day , but by day 2 he was brave.
He is now attacking Chloe's tail, much to her absolute horror, and attempting to take over any of her special places throughout the house.
We still miss Olivia, but I think we all needed a little Paddington in our lives.
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