By Lucy Llewellyn Byard
It takes a village, in this case a small village.
I recently wrote about a crum of a neighbor who abandoned three young cats, saying they weren’t her problem, when she moved.
My next door neighbor, MM, and I stepped up and fed the three abandoned babies twice daily on our porches. It only took the squeak of my front door opening for the three youngsters to bound from my neighbor’s house to mine. Breakfast time!
This went on for days with the kitties, I call them Porch Babies, sleeping on either MM’s porch or mine. I laughed when I saw MM’s porch with blankets on chairs and food and water bowls as well. Just like mine. I took every old towel and put it on my porch furniture. I even bought a heated cat house for the poor souls.
Through contacts and a fund raiser, MM organized the sterilization of the one boy kitty. Also the spaying of one of the girls. I kept all three in my second bedroom to keep them away from food and water before the vet appointment. It created a Cold War in my house between my three cats and the Porch Babies.
At 7 a.m.. MM (who btw has pneumonia. The two of us are quite a pair) came over for the one female and actually took both females in case the vet would spay the pair. Turned out that both had been previously spayed! Imagine our surprise.
Who sterilizes young cats and then abandons them?
Stray cats in Lake County is off the charts. I know too many kindhearted people caring for homeless cats. Homeless dogs. Homeless people.
What’s a county to do?
All I know is that MM and I are doing our part to help. Once all three are fixed we’re hopeful that someone will want to adopt them as they are just the sweetest little beings around.
Christmas here was quiet except for Little Boy pouncing on my oldest, Sox. Claire, my youngest, constantly growled and Noodle didn’t give a damn unless one of the Porch Babies got too close to her. The young Black and White girl (who I’m calling Honey) is a complete adorable lap cat. One night all three Porch Babies curled around and on my legs, weighing me down making it impossible to sleep. The older cats had found other places of refuge. Finally I tossed everyone off the bed and moved the PBs to the back bedroom. I needed space!
Logistics of having so many cats who don’t get along, is a nightmare. Cleaning the kitty litters is a full time job. And with still recovering from my own surgery, it really is a pain. MM has four dogs and is fostering a fifth. When I offhandedly said, “Why don’t you just keep the fifth one?” She rolled her eyes and said, “Backyard poop patrol.”
I get it…I get it.
When I was growing up we lived in the country. The only dogs we ever had were strays. My mother was adamant about helping all creatures. We fed the birds throughout the seasons and my parents posted No Hunting signs on the property. At some point my mom began to save cats as well as dogs. She supported the ASPCA and while growing flowers she’d make posy bouquets to sell at the plant nursery where she worked. That money was given to the ASPCA.
When my mother died, she was cremated. My daughter threw part of Grandma’s ashes off the Eiffel Tower and I took the rest with me when I moved to Sri Lanka.
Once there and once I saw how dismal the street dogs were treated, how horrific their condition was, I scrapped any plans of tossing my mother’s ashes into the wind in Sri Lanka.
Somehow, somewhere we have to take a stand.
That’s why my neighbor MM and I have taken care of the three abandoned kittens. Someone had to do it. Why not the woman with pneumonia and five dogs (MM) and the woman recovering from recent surgery (me) and three cats (former strays) do it?
Thank goodness for those who donated to Mendo Shelter Pets Rescue and to Wasson Memorial Veterinary Clinic for preforming the procedures.
What’s a girl to do after all this?…find loving homes for these three adorable Porch Babies. Or maybe just become another Cat Lady. (Oh please!)
Lucy Llewellyn Byard is currently a columnist for the Record-Bee. To contact her, email lucywgtd@gmail.com
