After I left home, I always yearned for the companionship of an animal, mostly cats. Since I moved away from home, I've owned, Le Stat, an all black male stray cat given to me by a boyfriend. I took him for a walk on a leash one night and he slipped off his collar and bolted. :( I heard he made his way back to my boyfriend's house but we had broken up by that point so I'm not sure. Next there was Belinda, a tuxedo female, we called her Bellah for short after an Irish goddess. We found her outback of an apartment complex, quite beaten up by her brothers and sisters. She was the sweetest thing with a broken voice, so her meow was kinda crackly. She'd sit patiently in our living room waiting by the backdoor as my roommate and I would have our evening cigarettes out on the back porch, as soon as I came in, I'd say "Bellah, bedtime" and she'd flitter off to meet me onto my little twin sized bed where she'd curl up between my fetal positioned legs for the rest of the night. I had her for over 3 years, until I had to leave the room I was renting and move back home. My parents said no cats because my grandma was living there and she was highly asthmatic and cats set it off. Luckily the guy I was renting a room from, was my best friend's dad, and he had fallen in love with Bellah, plus he had 4 cats of his own that she was bff's with, so she stayed with him and is still alive and well. I then met love's dad, he was highly allergic to cats, but dogs were ok. He had a white female boxer named Nala, who was such a lovable and gentle lady. She passed away about 2 years ago and it kinda rocked Love's world because Nala had become like an aunt to her, from the very beginning, Nala would sit tenderly rocking Love in her infant swing making sure all was ok in Love's world. Even though Love's dad and I were not together, I can't deny the mother like love Nala provided to Love.
Unfortunately, Hun grew up learning that animals were only good for 1) work, and 2) food. He grew up on a poor mans farm in Vietnam. He did have a pig, but it was raised only to be sold for food. Plus he thinks animals are dirty and full of germs. I moved in with him knowing full well that animals would never be a part of our lives. I thought that I would be ok with that. When we 1st separated, I immediately began looking for a furry companion. Luckily, a friend of a friend had a cat that had a few kittens that would be ready to go to their new home in a week or two, so I raised my hand and got the last kitten, and named him Edward. Edward was the most adorable thing ever, mischievous,but adorably so. The kids and I were in love with the cuteness overload, but after only a few short weeks, Babe started getting hives and constantly sick, so a decision was made to say good-bye to Edward, as he went off to stay with his sister at my friend's house. I still searched for a suitable companion, one that would teach the kids responsibility, so I got two female guppies, in hopes they would be the only guppies in the tank. Two days after bringing them home, I woke up to find 2 dozen or so little guppies swimming around, which in a few weeks turned into a lot more. I ended up giving over 100 little guppies to my dad to feed his oscars and continued to supply him with more on a biweekly basis. So yeah, it was out of control. The tank ended up developing a bacterial infection which wiped out a large portion of the population, even after bleaching the tank and filter, the bacteria continued to spread. The only thing left to do was to kill the whole tank and start new. I just felt so guilty that I hadn't been able to "save" the fish, and was afraid to start over so I gave up on fish. I dumped the tank out back, bleached everything and tossed it to the curb. The next week. I had a beautiful black polydactyl cat come up to my door meowing for food. She must have smelled the fish, ate them and decided she wanted some more. She was so friendly, and we had just had babe tested for allergies and found he was non- reactive to cats, I decided she had to stay. Since she was so friendly, I figured she must belong to someone, so I put up found cat signs around the neighborhood and posted it up on Craigslist too. After a month of no response, I called up my landlord and asked if it was ok to have a cat in the apartment. Thrilled that she said yes, I named her Bella. (I'm a huge twilight fan - Edward was named for the team I routed for, so a female obviously needed to be named Bella!) Almost 2 years she was a part of our home, then Hun and I reconciled. I was torn between the sweet companion we had made part of our family, or being under one roof and being a real family. I found Bella a new home, with a good family that lives right down the street, but I haven't been able to bring myself to visit her, because I don't want to impose on the family.
Still I long for the companionship, and so do the kids, but changing Hun's mind on the subject won't be easy. We have stray kittens living in our shed out back, and secretly, they are mine. I feed them and watch them as they sneak around, but they are feral and won't let me near them. Now we are working on fixing up the backyard, which involves tearing down the shed, leaving these kittens, shelter-less. Hun is trying to find traps to catch them, and put into a shelter, where I know they would be euthanized, so I would much rather have them here, in the backyard, than in a shelter.
That is my current dilemma. So I turn to you for advice, how would you convince him to let them stay? Would you keep them? Would you put them in a shelter? Would you find them safe homes? What animals could you suggest other than fish, that might not be "dirty" as Hun thinks. He hates hamsters and bunnies and anything that poops. :(
Please help!!
If you have a broomstick, you have to have a cat! We have two. Our family would not be complete without them.
ReplyDeleteI know right?!?! The on;y problem is convincing him that we need one, or 20. :)
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