Beautiful kittens! I hope everything is well with you and are surviving the summer. For the past week, I have been looking after my neighbours’ cats as they have left for a few days to go visit some friends and relatives. It is not the first time I have done this, however this is surely the longest time: it usually was for a weekend (Friday to Sunday), but this time is for almost 10 days. Absolutely not a problem, they are two cuties, a male and a female – will call them Loki and Nala – and the male is so affectionate and cuddly! They are two black cats and are rescues (the female has a sad story, she used to live in a small apartment in London with a dog and they used to fight so she’s quite defensive especially when you go too close to her tail).

I love them so much! These days, Loki was also trying to follow me back home, which is not a great idea because my rescue black cat is very jealous. On the second day of my “cat-feeding duties”, when I was going out to give dinner to the other two felines, my cat was following me – something that she very rarely does and she would have probably arrived to my neighbour’s house if I hadn’t decided to go back home, give her some food and wait 10 minutes before going out again. I went to the other two cats, they wanted extra cuddles. When I finally got back home, my cat was sniffing the shoes and the clothes I was wearing and she wasn’t too happy. So, now I have a change of clothes and shoes that I use when I go feeding Nala and Loki and as soon as I get home I change them so that I don’t upset her. She’s also been much more cuddly and she’s been bringing me more leaves than usual! It is a rollercoaster of emotions.

As usual, on these occasions, I go first thing in the morning to give them breakfast, then again at dinnertime. In the morning I can only stay 10-15 minutes so I try to spend a bit more time for their dinner to give them extra cuddles. Knowing that they are all alone, while they usually have two people living with them, breaks my heart. Much for Loki, as he’s the more affectionate one, but also Nala because I know that she likes some cuddles.

This kind of made me understand that it would be really difficult for me to volunteer at a shelter: all those unwanted cats that have no one but the staff at the shelter, that they don’t get as much attention as they would like and those that going to be sent to die because nobody wants them. I would probably end up taking them all! Or crying a lot because even if I were to re-home them, more would arrive at the shelter. True, if it weren’t for those who abandon cats, I would have never met Loki, Nala and my cat and my world would certainly be sadder. But all those poor souls left to fend for themselves, going from a bad situation to an even worse one of being euthanised because not only they have not been wanted in the first place but also later on after they have been rescued. So I know where I go with this: adopt don’t shop. There is no reason for you to buy an animal. And when you know more cats and dogs and rabbits etc. you will see how each of them has a different personality and killing them would be like killing babies. There is no such thing as an ethical breeder: even the “good ones”, for every kitten or puppy they sell, there are many more that are going to be killed. There are so many charities and shelters around you, that all is needed is a bit of patience. Some shelters might require a specific environment for that animal: if you don’t have the right circumstances then ask for another pet or go to another shelter. There is the perfect rescue for you out there! It’s what happened to me: there are two cat charities near where I live and while for one I didn’t have the suitable environment for the cats in their care, another one did. On the matter of allergies, I am sure that especially after Christmas you will find a hypoallergenic pet somewhere!

I hope this will help you consider taking in a rescue, you won’t regret it!

Have a good night 🙂

Love,

TVCL xx