I have always loved animals and my family was always picking up animals and trying to make pets out of them. We had the baby squirrel that fell from the nest, the sea gull whose wing had been shot off, there were the tortoises and lizards and snakes from our desert camping trips, my brothers school class chicken that he brought home at the end of the year, and the usual assortment of cats and dogs who came through our lives.
My parents were old fashioned people from hillbilly country in Kentucky. They never bought a pet until I, the youngest, had left home. When my mother's 200 year old kick dog got to where they thought she'd go at any minute, my father went out and bought the most adorable little pedigreed miniature schnauzer puppy. His reasoning was that he wanted my mother to have a replacement before the dog she had literally had for about 17 years died. The old dog, Lily, outlived my mother by about 6 weeks.
Similarly I have only ever bought one animal in my life. When my older daughter was a baby I bought a kitten at a pet shop for $50. It was very unhealthy and did not live very long. Every other animal I have had in my adult life came into the world just like I did: unplanned and unwanted.
Except for the time I was in the service and when I was homeless, I have always had pets in my life. I cannot imagine living life without animals. When I became homeless I had a cat called Kilapia. I had to give him up, but the young man who took him said I could have him back when I could get a stable place. Kilapia is such a great cat that when I asked for him back the young man(who I still like by the way) accused me of trying to steal his cat. So I knew Kilapia was loved and cared for and that I would not get him back.
I now have three cats in my life. The first one I got when I finally got my disability and got into a stable place. Her name is Daisy and she is about two years old now. She came from a family who does not for some reason believe in spaying and neutering. Instead I guess they believe in spending hours in front of the local store trying to give away kittens in a world where most unwanted cats are euthanized. I was glad to offer her a home and although she is anti-human I love her. By anti-human I mean she acts like she is being tortured anytime I pick her up and only wants to get in my lap for a petting about once a month. She is very pretty and from her markings I think she might be part bengal cat.
Still, she seemed lonely and bored. So we put the word out about 3 months ago that we were looking for a kitten to be her companion. About a month ago he came into our lives. A sweet little kitten we named Friday, after the character in Robinson Crusoe, he was meant to be Daisy's companion and a kitten we can actually hold and pet. Friday filled the bill perfectly. Daisy loves him and we love him. He is an adorable little boy who looks Himalayan. He fits in as if he were meant to be here. His original people had to give him up after only a couple of weeks as they were homeless as well.
That brings us to last saturday. Last Saturday as I was going for my morning walk I thought I saw an injured squirrel crawling in the gutter. It was not a squirrel. It was Bubbles the unintended kitty. she was very tiny and I think she might be about 6 weeks old now. She had a bad care of earmites and her eyes were infected and crusted over most of the way so that she could not see very well. I could fit her in one hand. I asked at all the houses nearby and no-one claimed her so I carried her home and began nursing her. I got the medicine at the local farm store along with some food and formula. Thank God for my partner Ben's credit card. (You might wonder how a man with lifelong mental illness who has never held a job for more than a few months can get a credit card, I know I did. He is very responsible with it though.) Now only a week later, she is running around playing. Her eyes are almost completely healed. She was too young for the Earmite medicine so I am continuing to clean her ears by hand and they look a little better. she is a tiny little ball of fluff who sleeps by my head because it is furry. She is so friendly with people that I have come to the conclusion that she was dropped off by some person who did not alter their cat and did not want to sit in front of the store giving kittens away. I named her bubbles after the character in the Trailer Park Boys series who is always taking in abandoned cats. Ben said when I walked home with her,"I married a crazy cat lady."
I felt very lucky to find her and be able to care for her. At the same time I feel so angry at the people who abandoned her. She was much too young to leave her mother. She might have gotten hit by a car. If I had not noticed her she could have died alone in the street. No animal should die this way because of human neglect and abuse. I may give Bubbles to someone else as I only wanted to have two cats. However I could not ever abandon an animal and if no home is found then she is already home.
We should all be kind to animals. The first and most important step is to get any animals we are responsible for altered. It may seem to be cruel and to go against nature but the sad fact is that many, many thousands of unwanted domestic animals are put down every day. That also is unnatural. If you think about it domestic animals are not really natural at all. We created them and are therefore responsible for them and the true cruelty is that so many animals that were created by mankind to want and need our care are left homeless and abandoned in the world. Having been homeless, I equate their treatment with the treatment of the homeless. The lost and forgotten. The abandoned who, like us, need and want human love and care. The tired and lonely
seeking a safe refuge.
This week: This week has been taken up by kitten care and exploring. Ben and I have been out riding bikes and exploring. Yesterday we found our way to some county land and after locking our bikes up were walking around remarking at how beautiful the area was and why no-one seemed to know about it. There were plenty of people there and we found several homeless camps. It was near the river and there were some ponds around as well. So we are walking along a path and this naked old man comes walking by. I live in Oregon so I really did not think much of it. I though he must have been swimming. Then a while later we ran into these two nice young men from the local HIV alliance. They said they were giving out condoms and lubes. I just said That we were fine and had been together forever and did not need any but that I was glad they did the excellent work they do. We kept walking and eventually found a quiet little spot to have a smoke in and I saw a condom on the ground. Suddenly the theme song from jeopardy started playing in my head and I said "ooooohhhhhhh" I only saw two other women there and the one worked at the park. There were lots of attractive young men hiking around a fairly remote area all by themselves and the HIV alliance is passing out condoms and not needles as they do in some of the more notorious parks around here. I know, I know. I am just slow but I get there eventually. And you know what? I am glad. I am glad that there is a place where gay men can come and meet people without drugs or alcohol. I understand why no-one talks about this place. I actually feel safer knowing that most of the people there not there to drink or shoot up. That they are basically open minded people who are not looking for trouble and will mind their own business. It makes it a safer park in my mind.