About that Kitten...

Here we are at the farm meeting the new "mouser":

 Of course we thought he was cute, but he was a cat for the farm, he belonged to Gramz, and Pablo (the farm manager) was in charge of his care.  So we enjoyed him and went home.

 Later in the visit we began to get reports of how much the barn cat meowed for loneliness.  He was just separated from his littermates and mother.  He wouldn't eat his kibble, but only canned (wet) food.  Pablo took the kitty home to sleep at night, but he just meowed and kept Pablo's wife Lupe awake.  Lupe told Pablo not to bring the cat home again.

 Pablo is a large man with a very very soft heart.  We came out again to play with the cat, who had a dirty little face (seen below) after a morning in the barn.  He purred like crazy when my kids held him, but sure enough, he was meowing incessantly when we arrived and when we left.

My Mother-in-Law took my kids out  to the farm another morning and Pablo's report was not improving.  The cat wouldn't stop meowing and Pablo had decided that the cat was unhappy at the farm and that he would take him to the animal shelter.  Unfortunately, the animal shelter in that city is overflowing and does euthanize un-homed pets.  I told my Mother-in-Law that the cat was cute and would probably get adopted.  She was skeptical.  In her words, "This town is overflowing with kittens".  She picked up her cell phone and looked at me, saying, "he's taking him now, if you want me to stop him..."  

What was I to do?  My kids had named him "Cooper" on the drive home with their Gramz.

I said (and yes, you can laugh as you read the words) "Well, let's just take him for a few days and see how he does and we can decide what to do after that."  I couldn't just let him go to a kill shelter! (right?)

Well, Cooper did great with us.  We put water on his kibble to make it soft, and he ate it right up.  He grew a TON that week.  And he rarely meowed.  He loved to play, and Reina (our labradoodle) loved him!  Actually she treated him like a puppy of her own.  I didn't really have a great excuse to NOT keep the cat....except for that 2,000 mile road trip home.  My Mother-in-Law encouraged us to keep him.  I asked her whose side she was on, and she said, with a wry smile and a twinkle in her eye: "The cat's!"

My kids were determined that they could make it work.  We purchased a small kennel and put a litter tray inside with food and water.  On the ride home he slept in laps and climbed the seats, but at night, he snuggled down with Reina on the floorboards between the front seats.  It was sweet.  I was even happy to have him with us; a cheerful little friend to distract us from the long hours of driving.

And now we're home!  He really fits right in.

I'm not sure how it will turn out for us long-term, but I know the animal shelter around here does not kill.

I'm also pretty sure that with each passing day that prospect is less likely.  Even I am getting attached to this little fluff ball.  But you probably already guessed that.  It's true, I'm a sucker for animals, especially cute fuzzy ones.

Welcome to the family Cooper!