The process of selling an overlarge, problematic property while purchasing another 3,000 miles away and arranging the transport of 13 cats provided challenges. They might well have discouraged me and in another mindset, I may have abandoned the idea. But I’d made the decision and committed to it.
One thing could have caused me to break that commitment, if the timing had been different.
Blackie had been a stray cat that eventually invited herself in.
Another stray had begun passing by in search of food. He was a grey and white lad that we called Charlie. Though he came to sit on the patio, he was feral.
This was a cat that wanted no part of coming indoors.
At the end of the cul-de-sac was a house that we knew was cat-friendly. We saw Charlie go there, so he was not dependent on us.
.
Moving away, I would miss him, but I just could not continue living in a house that was expensive to maintain and likely to require costly repairs in the near future, not for a feral cat that could disappear at any time.
During the summer, Charlie acquired a girlfriend.
.
The pair were very alike but the girlfriend was much smaller which is how she came to be called Little One. She was very shy but unlike Charlie, she was not feral.
Even if I had not committed to moving, I would have resisted trapping Little One because she and Charlie were clearly bonded. I couldn’t bear the idea of separating them.
They were not my cats, yet going away and leaving them was going to be hard and I had to avoid getting emotionally attached.
Luckily, I was so busy with packing and problems, I didn’t have time to think too much.
.
Then one morning, Little One turned up on the porch.
With a litter of kittens.
.
Charlie came too.
They stared at us through the window.
.
It seemed as if the little orange kitten was prompted to stand up and appeal to us.
.
Charlie and Little One had obviously deliberately brought their kittens to our front door.
Grant said he would get a hold of the kittens and take them to a nearby shelter. Coward that I am, I could not get involved. It was too distressing. The kittens seemed healthy and were likely to be adopted quickly, so I am sure it was the right thing to do for them.
But if this had happened just a few weeks sooner, chances are the kittens would have come into the “suites” and I would have ended up staying in order to look out for Charlie and Little One, holding on to a house I could no longer afford.
Those two sweet faces were my only regret about leaving.
I still think about them all the time.
.
It says a lot about you that Charlie and Little One trusted you to do the best thing for their kittens. And of course you did just that.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thank you, Carolyn, for the wonderful tale! As nothing in life is straightforward, I had to accept the events that pulled at my heartstrings! At least in our parts of the world, there are more pluses than minuses, and life is worth living.
Joanna
Oh my, the face of that little orange kitten – my heart! But sometimes you have to stick to your decision and believe in your heart that Charlie, Little One, and the babies’ lives all turned out to be fine. I will always remember my mum’s words: ‘You can’t make everyone happy’ … and I guess that probably includes animals too (unfortunately). And like Pete said, in the end you (or Grant) did what Charlie and Little One probably expected from you.
They look adorable!