Thursday, December 10, 2009

Cold Outside and Warming My Heart

Holy crap it was cold today! I couldn't help but think of all the cats that would be coming into the shelter today by the people who had been feeding them during the better weather. I guess being in the shelter is preferable to freezing to death.

I did a small rescue this morning and rescued a cute orange guy named "Phoenix" for a foster home plus the "little man" that captured my heart over the past few days:

I renamed Gregory "Sherman" and brought him home with me. It was against my better judgment to take on another foster cat when my daughter is arriving tomorrow from Southern California for a few days, PLUS my back isn't 100% back to normal, but I just couldn't leave him again. Our eyes met...and...I packed him up.

I came home to an email from a favourite foster Mom who announced that her foster kitten "Tuggs" had been adopted. I called her and asked if she'd take "Sherman". Bless her heart... in this freezing weather she and her husband met me in a Wendy's parking lot to pick him up tonight.

Sherman wasn't with me long, but he made a lasting impression. :)

Some disappointing news:

I received an email today from the woman that adopted "Beanie":

"Hi Beth,

I was wondering if you could assist me, Beanie has been wonderful, but after 3 days my allergies are killing me!!!! I’ve tried the allerpet and will keep trying this out for at least a week, I knew I had allergies but my last cat my roommate had didn’t seem to bother me so much, maybe because she was a long haired cat with totally different textured hair. This cat has been absolutely amazing, very well behaved, he does meow a bit but that doesn’t bother me, but he has also been sneezing (I hope that doesn’t mean anything)….if I did have to give him back Beth (it breaks my heart, but I may have to)….will someone be able to foster him, or adopt him, please advise of my options….anyone would love him, he adjusts sooooo well.."


I don't remember her saying a thing about allergies, but maybe I was just too excited that Beanie would be in a forever home so quickly. I gave her some good advice via email regarding her allergies. But we might be back to the drawing board on this one. At least he won't be going back to the shelter, but his forever home might have to wait. I didn't give up on Beanie last time and I won't give up on him this time.

Let's hope the weather warms up tomorrow. It really hurts to think of any little animal out there tonight. I wish I could enjoy the cozy nights like everybody else.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Has Beanie's mom tried bathing him? My kids find that they are bothered by the cats when they first come to our hous. After a good bath everything seems to settle down. I hope she's able to keep him:)

Steve Bartlett said...

Try not to be too hard on her. I know from my friends' experiences that people with cat allergies react much more to some cats than to others. Her observation that she was less allergic to a long haired cat is probably true -- it's the dandruff that people are generally allergic to, and in long haired cats the dandruff tends to stick to the fur and not spread around the way it does for short haired cats.

HomeToMany said...

Oh Beth, don't worry you are not the only one thinking about the little ones out there in the freezing cold. I said to my husband last night "It breaks my heart to think of all the freezing cold kitties looking for warmth and the dogs stuck on the end of chains tonight." I truly lose sleep thinking about them. I always ask him for just one more, but after 13 cats and 2 large dogs, I am way over my limit, like more than 2 times what I am allowed. :-( or else I would be fostering some for you right now.

House of the Discarded said...

I know....she's a lovely lady and I'm sure she's enjoying Beanie despite the allergies. I feel terrible that's she's miserable. I only wish that I had known allergies were an issue in the first place. :(

-B

Smartypants said...

I've always had allergies to cats, and find that I'm much more allergic to the short-haired than the long-haired... however! It takes about 3 or 4 weeks to adjust and then I find that - with regular vaccuming - I am alright. We also leave an air purifier in the main area of the apartment on overnight. Every now and then I still need to take a claritin, but usually only if we've been slacking on our cleaning! I never thought I'd adjust to Marve, but I did... and with each new foster cat I have a period of allergies but I do seem to adjust. I really hope Beanie's mom will try a few tricks before giving him up...

Anonymous said...

I am the same way - highly allergic to cats. Every time a new cat comes into the house I am an itchy, welting mess for about 3 weeks. Then I'm just an itchy mess for another 6. It literally takes over two months for me to fully adjust.

But now I live with three cats, three fosters, and with vacuuming every week I am okay. Tell the lady that if she really love him to give him a month or two to adjust. It does happen.

And I also can't enjoy cozy nights by the fire. All I can think about is frostbitten ears, trying to cover noses with tails for warmth, curled up in little balls, and hopeless sadness. It sucks for me, but I know ti sucks much more for them.

-Simone

Anonymous said...

Changing the diet from crappy kitty chow to a good quality food can make a difference too. I've even run a bounce sheet over my cat's back to reduce the static charge and 'floaties'!

Smartypants said...

So true about good kitty chow! HUGE difference!

Caroline said...

Since fostering cats, I've upped my Reactine to 1/2 in the morning in addition to my normal 1/2 at night. I find this keeps my allergies under control. I also don't let the cat on my bed when I'm in it.