Kelly and McKinley

Happy Canada Day! My holiday started with the return of one of our cats. McKinley is a very cute older kitten that was adopted 6 weeks ago by a young woman and her boyfriend. I've always been a little prejudiced against young people that live together out of fear that they're just "playing house" by adopting a cat. I always worry about their commitment level.

I received the call from Kelly last week. Her and the boyfriend broke up and the boyfriend doesn't want McKinley and she still has 1 year left at school and has to move home. I avoided calling her back right away because I had hoped she would work things out by reconciling with the boyfriend or her parents would allow McKinely to stay there. It wasn't meant to be. Her calls became more and more frantic.

There were SO MANY things I wanted to say to Kelly. I had rehearsed them last night night. I wanted to tell her "Next time, adopt a fish", or "What were you thinking?" or "Obviously, you weren't ready for this kind of commitment."

I couldn't do it. She showed up at the door and was a lovely young woman. She had his toys and McKinley had received his booster shots and her own vet. She loved him and took care of him. Her eyes brimmed with tears as I took him out of his crate. She couldn't speak. I took McKinley around to some of my cats and said in a cheery voice, "McKinley, this is Wilbur your new friend!" I suddenly wanted to make her feel better. I told her that she could come visit him and she could have him back if she pulled her life together and he was still available. I even said something stupid like she could meet the potential adopters. *sigh*

We all make mistakes. Certainly I was naive at 22 years old. But at 22 years old I was married, had a baby and 4 cats. It was my choice and I wouldn't do anything else. But I couldn't help but console this young woman. She had a year left of University. Her life was in front of her. There would be other cats and other boyfriends.

For now....I need to console McKinley. He's a confused little guy and doesn't understand what happened to him. He's so sweet and gentle. He'll be ok.

Kelly will be OK too. I hope she remembers us after she graduates from University. Maybe she'll become a veterinarian and offer her services for free! One can only hope!