The rarity we get to witness is the stuff fairy tales are made from. And we know it. We love it. So today we're going to share a piece of it with you.
As perhaps most fairy tales start, we didn't expect this to be our story. It's daring to live this way. It's well known that household with more than two cats it looked at suspiciously. Why do you have “so many cats”? What are doing with all of those cats? Aren't they a burden?
However when your fur babies have names and such vivid personalities, sometimes one forgets to count by numbers or by society's standards.
We just know Beckett is sweet little girlie girl who doesn't want to be picked on, although she's so muscular & fast that she could pummel anyone who annoys her. She doesn't want to fight. She wants to be spoiled & adored.Magnum is a mama's boy and NEEDS mama's attention daily.
Castle is sweet to everyone (almost everyone) and takes care of the younger cats with kisses, grooming, and a bit of showing off those pouncing skills. ...and the list goes on. It's constantly in our thoughts. Each of the furry babies is a personality. We call their name, it's the personality we expect to show up, not Cat Number Four.
We don't see a number of cats. We see blessings.
Don Campbell is quoted as saying, “If you want small changes, then change the way you do things. If you want major changes, then change the way you SEE things.”
Visually we share with our social media followers some of photos and videos. Both cute and sassy cats frequently make the page. You can see the cuteness or the hilarious interactions, but maybe what you never get to see is how amazing it is that we get to capture these complex moments. Many times these are full grown littermates playing together, cuddling together, grooming each other, running after one another playfully. Full grown cats that are still getting to interact on a calm level. This is because all of the cats who've come to call us home, they're ALL spayed & neuter. That one fact elevates their interactions to a level they would not have otherwise known.
If those once-upon-a-time kittens had just been left on the streets like their parental cats had been by others, then they'd never have the chance to have the kinship bonds that they do now. Hormones, territorial wars, food scarcity, and number of other problems that are faced by hundreds of homeless streets cats prevent them from having a true opportunity to be part of a clowder or any long term social connections.
Spay & neutering changes the interactions & opportunities available for animals to have.
We often hear how society suffers if we do no spay & neuter, but is anyone else talking about the incredible victory of seeing these positive interactions in spayed & neutered animals? Our once-kittens now full grown cats now have spent years together still acting in the calmness of early kittenhood, socially. These littermates spend years learning when to jump out at the other ones. Years listening for their siblings' squeal of displeasure, which causes them (if they didn't cause it themselves) to come running from the back corners of the Earth. “Who's picking on Beckett!? Let them show their face!” For years they've been able to go to their sibling give a little head bump, and often receive a bit of grooming in exchange. It's softens something within us to witness it. This is beyond normal. This is way above average.
We do not have littermates because our cats made them, no. Someone else didn't consider what positive opportunities they could've created through spay & neutering. Instead they just released some cats the outside to fend for themselves. Therein we've had strays/feral cats who've found us, trusted us, allowed us some amount of interact, and at an expected time they've left their young kittens with us. We suspect because perhaps they were pregnant again before we could trap & release. As many hero's journeys go, we found ourselves in unexpected circumstances (more than once!) with a litter of kittens, no signs of mama who use to frequent these spaces, add onto that poor weather threatening their tiny livelihoods.
We are not the first to be in these circumstances. Many other rescues are able to rehome kittens with much more ease, than we've encountered. At some point, we have to accept there's truly a bigger plan than we can understand. We're being gifted with something we were not looking to achieve.
For now, all of our cutenesses will have to settle for a loving home, where they work hard testing handcrafted toys, being models, inspiring us, and teach a few old fools what astonishing amounts of kindness, gentleness, and playful joy still exist in this world around us.
What incredible moments and unexpected journey might you find from adopting spayed & neutered littermates?