Saturday, July 5, 2008

I am bitter

Yesterday we were casually hanging out with my brother, my mom and my sister. Literally, my sister was draped on the couch and I was draped on the big chair, when someone approached the house. "Are they walking by the house or walking to the house," I inquired of my mom.

King Daddy went outside to greet the pair. I recognized the man, the woman I had never seen before. They came to visit TJ aka Pumpkin. By the time I joined the trio, KD had already shared with them that he had died. "I am sorry," the man said. He was clearly, ahem, out of it.

The woman, Tina, was being consoled by the man, Karl. Evidently, Karl lives across the street from us and Tina, his "better half" was visiting for the Holiday weekend. Pumpkin was Tina's daughter's cat. He had lived most of his life, indoors with their three children. Her daughter's husband was deployed for three years, overseas, they could not bring the cat with them. Tina brought the cat to Karl's in the hopes of making him a barn cat. "What could I do, I had two cats of my own," she explained.

I shared the story of how he died and about everyone who cared for him. I shared the story of the man who hit him and how he stopped and helped us look for him. We showed them Pumpkin's garden. She asked if she could bring the kids over to see the garden. "Of course," I said. They told us that they have another cat who is pregnant and if we wanted a kitten we would have first pick. They told us how sorry they were again and wished us a happy 4th and walked down the driveway and were gone.

After this exchange I was angry. I was really angry. I was protective of his memory, of my memories of him. He was our cat. When he found us, he was beyond skinny and obviously in need of food and love. He was not neutered. I had no idea if he had his shots. Even in our dire financial straights back then, we knew he would need to be neutered as well as receive shots.

How do you make a cat who had been primarily indoors, with a family, into a barn cat? How do you have a cat, in this day and age, and not have him neutered? Why not bring him to a shelter, when it was determined that the cat would not be able to move too? What exactly did you think would happen to him?

Oh and by the way, I spent about $2,000 on the cat that you are so concerned about!

See, I am bitter.

7 comments:

Texasholly said...

Ugh. I totally understand being upset. That is a bunch of craziness.

scargosun said...

Ouch! That really is a kick in the shins. Some people really don't know any better. I am going to send you an email today to inquire about said subject. I think you can hep me out.

KathyLikesPink said...

I'd be ticked too. Jerks. I've never understood how some folks seem to think that pets are disposable.

Mandy said...

Your feelings are totally acceptable. I am bitter for you for having to endure that. People who dump animals make me sick. God bless you and your family for giving Pumpkin a loving home.

Lindsay said...

I'm so sorry these people had to come by and ruin your day by desecrating poor Pumpkin's memory. Try not to let it bother you.

Agree with the others; how could someone just dump a pet off? I would never do something like that. My pets are my children, and I would make sure the new living situation would accommodate them.

Muffy Willowbrook said...

You have every right to be bitter. Insensitive jerks.

Happy Campers said...

I don't blame you for being bitter one bit. Before I had my son, I volunteered at our local humane society & I was always glad when someone brought in a kitty. That meant they weren't just "letting him go" to fend for himself.

You are a good person for taking in that skinny kitty & giving Pumpkin a happy rest of life.