While I’ve been struggling to think of topics to write my next blog post on, I came about a unique scenario. Now, this isn’t something that happens to everybody everywhere, and I had been hoping it to happen for me for a while. The situation I’m referencing is happening upon a stray kitten.
Someone in my apartment complex had found a stray kitten, 3 months of age, and couldn’t keep him. I jumped into it, saying that we could take him in, and immediately walked over with a carrier. We talked for a little, got to know them a bit, and I ended up with a kitten in my apartment.
The Stray Conundrum
I was wildly unprepared for such a scenario. As a cat lover and owner, I believed that I had the right supplies to take care of this kitten. We have a litter box, we could use some bowls for food and water, and plenty of love to spare. I let the kitten out of the carrier in the living room, where Loki (our cat) was interested. He gave a couple of sniffs to this kitten, then immediately hopped on the defensive. He hissed at the kitten, and in return, the kitten gave some noises of frustration and grunting.
Eileen even came home from her class because she couldn’t focus, and to help alleviate the passive-aggressiveness between the two. This is where she found me sitting in the bedroom with the kitten while Loki sat outside in the living room. I gave Loki the larger space, as he felt most comfortable in that area. She had run to the store to buy another litter box, along with some extra litter. We set up a small, temporary space for the kitten in our bathroom, along with a bath mat for a “bed”.
He was the sweetest little thing, and because of his lack of a tail, I dubbed him “Little Bear”. Eileen was set on the name “Bunny”. Never in my life had I seen a kitten so smart, agile, sweet, and affectionate. Most kittens I’ve encountered have had enough energy for three of me. This kitten, however, was just enough for me. He had a little setup in our apartment and things were coming together, but Eileen and I knew this couldn’t last.
The First-Born
We had a right to make our first cat, Loki, feel like he was the most important, as he is. I would genuinely run into a burning building to save Loki if he was still in it. I spent some time consoling Loki in the living room while Eileen was in the bathroom with the kitten. In the months we’ve had Loki, I never saw him so worried or scared.
I began looking into facilities that could intake a stray kitten and learned a brutal truth. Houston is overwhelmed with stray animals and shelter pets. Coming from the North, specifically New Hampshire, strays would always be taken in. If a lost pet was found, it would immediately be taken to a shelter and cared for while they searched for the owner. In Houston, the case is not the same. Shelters are at capacity. Even with a stray kitten, one that is healthy and might be adopted right away, shelters won’t make exceptions.
I called so many shelters I couldn’t name them all. I emailed places for resources on where the kitten could be taken. The following morning, I was cold-calling rescues and shelters. To make matters worse, the power had gone out so I couldn’t even research places on my computer. By eleven in the morning, I had an idea that might just work. I woke up Eileen and told her we’re going in person to figure this out.
The Shelter
Before we left in the morning with the kitten in the carrier, I had a place in mind. While I don’t necessarily support shelters that euthanize, I understand it. However, if the option was presented, I’d rather bring this kitten to a no-kill shelter. We loaded ourselves into the car and got going. We ended up at Friends4Life.
Eileen and I had both had the idea that if we got rejected here, it was a sign to keep the kitten. All of this struggling was starting to put a burden on us, and worst comes to worst, we hire a pet-sitter for December when we’re both traveling. At the front desk, we were met with a “sorry, we’re at capacity”. However, another employee heard us and wanted to hear our little story of how we came about him. She asked for a minute, went to the back, and brought out the “enrollment” specialist at Friends4Life. He then told he’d make a special exception for us because of our situation.
With that, we gave our final goodbyes (for now?) and kisses to our little kitten, and on the “wrap sheet”, we gave him the final name of Jelly Bean. Upon returning to the car, we both got emotional, questioning if we did the right thing. We know deep down in our hearts it was the right decision, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
The Lesson
We would’ve loved to have Jelly Bean in our lives. While we love Loki, and continue to love him, we knew we had enough love and supplies to support them both. Over time, Loki would’ve adjusted to the kitten and learned to share his space and belongings. But as we both get ready to travel in December, we had to understand it wasn’t the right time.
It takes a lot of time to let cats learn each others behaviors and emotions. As I begin a new position and Eileen will be traveling, we wouldn’t have anyone to supervise the two cats. If Loki truly got defensive, it could end very badly for the kitten, as Loki was five times his size. Money wasn’t the utmost concern, but it was something to be aware of.
As hard as it was to do, it was the right thing. The time wasn’t right. It was never going to be right, either. No matter what sequence of events happened, the kitten most likely would never end up in our hands. We love our Jelly Bean, but he landed in better hands and will go to a loving family. If he’s still on the website by January, we’ll take him back, but he’s the healthiest and friendliest kitten out there, so our hopes are low.
Outro Stuff
We’ll miss Jelly Bean with our whole hearts. Thank you again to Tyler and the rest of the team at Friends4Life for everything they’ve done and continue to do. Be sure to continue to look at the adoptable pets page to find him (although he may be renamed to Bobby Boucher). Please, when considering a new pet, adopt, don’t shop. Don’t buy from breeders as they continue to contribute towards the capacity at shelters, harboring many strays that genuinely need help from getting it.
Outside of this entire situation, while I love writing thoroughly researched articles, it takes a lot of time. Sometimes I need to do a smaller, personal post like this in the meantime. My next post will be one of these research articles, so keep an eye out on social media!
The cover photo is none other than Little Bear, Jelly Bean, Bunny himself.