As some of you know, I have been house-hunting in Tampa. While going to take one last look at a house in Seminole Heights before putting an offer in, I decided to check out another house nearby for one last time. There, I found a familiar face: a sweet stray kitty that I had seen twice before. This time was different because she was so FAT! When it dawned on me that she was pregnant, I just couldn’t leave her there. She came home with me on Wednesday night and I named her Flora after the street on which I found her. I have had a lot of cats in my life, and I have never known one to be so calm, so sweet, and so loving.
I took Flora to my normal vet practice on Thursday morning. I ended up seeing a vet I don’t like so much, and he was pretty adamant about wanting to spay her immediately. His words were “I’ll spay her up to the last minute”, thereby killing the babies. I could already feel the babies moving! He gave me an estimate of 20 days until they were born. He treated me like I was an irresponsible pet owner if I didn’t abort her litter. I left with the words “I’ll sleep on it” just so that I could get out of there. Happily, she was negative for both Feline Leukemia and FIV.
I settled her in last night for the long haul, planning on waiting 20 days and then fostering the kittens until they could be adopted. I placed my favorite shirt, my union shirt, in the crate with her because it smelled like me.
I went to check on her this morning at 7:30. She growled as I opened the laundry room door. That was strange because she usually meows with happiness when I come in. I uncovered the crate and lo and behold, I found four healthy, happy little babies! She gave birth to those babies 24 hours after arriving at my home.
I had to share this with you because it reminds me how everything happens for a reason, and how if we trust our hearts they will truly guide us. I believe that Flora waited until she felt totally safe and comfortable, then she let her babies be born. If they had been born where she was living at the time, underneath a 90 year old house, they would not have survived very long at all.
I have found a cat rescue who has agreed to spay all the kitties and find the babies homes, but I am going to try my hardest to find them homes myself. Let me know if you're interested!
Remember to trust your heart.
2 comments:
I would love to have that little white one but Frankie (the fiercest of all scaredy cats) would likely eat it. Not cool.
And, by the way, when I give birth in July I'll be expecting to find one of your favorite shirts nearby. :)
OMG, Jamie, that is such a cool story. You are awesome! Woah, I don't even know what to say... so neat. I've never seen new kittens before. They are so tiny. Are you going to keep Flora?
Shelley
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