Good Deeds... Not so Simple...

Now I'm not the kind of person who spends endless hours figuring out ways to help out my fellow man. I'm more than willing to lend a hand, or just about anything else, to someone in need, and I donate to causes and organizations that touch my heart. I've given money to strangers on the street and thrown food into the food bank bins at the store... but I don't go looking for it. I just help when a chance arises.

Which brings me to my dilemma. For the past few weeks, we've been considering adopting a kitten, or even a pair of them. Now if you know me you're aware that while I might be spontaneous about some decisions, adding a family member requires a great deal of thought and investigation. So for weeks I've scoured the internet, learning all I can about the different breeds and which one might fit best with my family. With kids and a dog, the choice is important. Having decided on a breed like the Maine Coon, I've been searching for available kittens. I don't care about pedigree so much as the personality of the cat. We found a darling kitten at the SPCA close to us, but unfortunately by the time we got home from Toronto, it was already adopted. Then a great friend of mine told me a friend had 2 cats, each of which had given birth to 5 kittens. So last night we ventured over to the house to look at these darlings.

My first opinion... OH MY GOD. They are gorgeous and completely irresistible. And to top it off, it looks like the mom (who is a kitten herself at only 9 months) is a Maine Coon. So we sit with the little tykes and know we have a hard choice ahead of us.

Well, today I find out the man who owns all these cats and kittens, is thinking of surrendering the mom and the kittens to the SPCA so he can "START FRESH" with two new kittens, most likely males he won't think about. With these tiny babes only 5 weeks old, they are too small to go to homes and I couldn't bear thinking they'd spend the foreseeable future in a cage.

(ok, here's the point I'm getting to.)

I call said SPCA (which I donate to monthly) and ask if I come in with this man if I could foster the litter for however long is necessary on the premise I'd love to keep the mom and one of her kittens. This is me thinking I'm doing them a favour. I'm not asking for money or supplies, offer my loving home to these darling animals, with the only catch being, if I can't find homes for them they can be put up for adoption through the SPCA. I'm even willing to keep them long past the usual age just because I know the shelter is bogged down.

So what do you think they say....

We'd love you to foster some kittens, but we won't guarantee you get those kittens and quite frankly, we prefer to give them to a stranger so the previous owner won't bother you!!!!

Who knew trying to do a good deed would be so complicated.

Frustration hardly tells you how I'm feeling. So now I'm forced to downshift to another plan... here's hoping it turns out ok.

Kris Norris

Romancing life...one adventure at a time.