Last week, on Wednesday, I was trying to do some work at home and I could not concentrate. Every couple of minutes I got distracted by constant purring and meowing. I was literally distracted by cuteness. On Wednesday evening, Justin and I became sudden “kitten parents” without our knowledge. In the one hour between I got home from work and the hour I had to prepare for dance class, two kittens must have dropped from the heavens from the grace of God onto our doorstep. At that moment in time, we had no clue as to where they came from.
Our yard is small and it is easy to notice the slightest change. Coming home from work seemed as normal as ever. When Justin got home an hour later, I noticed that he was standing on the porch for a while. I opened the door and he was staring at two young kittens meowing at his feet. I saw it and nearly died from the amount of cuteness. In all seriousness, who does not love kittens and puppies?! If people did not love them, they would not create millions of calendars of puppies and kittens.
I could not help myself, I picked up the kitten and started petting it. In the back of my mind, I heard the PCMO (the Peace Corps Medical Officer) yell at me, “RABIES! DO NOT PET THE KITTEN.” I was very careful so that the paws do not scratch me. I put the kittens down and went off to Georgian dance class. When I returned from dance class, the kittens were still there. Not only that, they must have realized that they loved me. They came up to me as I was approaching the main door. Did I suddenly become the kitten whisperer?
In reality, I realized that Justin and I are probably the only two humans that have shown them kindness. They looked like they have been separated from their mother early and they are probably hungry. Justin took out a bowl and gave them some water. I took an old shirt and put it in a bucket outside to create a “warm home” for them of sorts. Last night was windy and rainy. I would have taken them inside, but I am allergic to cats. I am able to pet them for a couple of minutes in outdoor spaces, but I cannot live with them indoors.
Seven years ago when I was still living with my parents, my middle sister brought home a kitten. Within three days, I sneezed so much that my nose started bleeding! I had to hide in my room because the dander was everywhere, and my chest started to hurt. It is a gradual allergic reaction and it is very frustrating. However, at least, I was able to enjoy the kittens for a few minutes at a time outdoors.
In the meantime, I tried not getting attached. If you notice, this post is written in the past tense. Thus, I’m implying they are no longer here. Also, I failed at the “attached” thing. If I did not get attached, this blog post would not exist. Yet, here I am. We discovered the next day that the kittens belonged to our neighbor. Justin and I speculated as to why we had them for a day, but nonetheless, he purposely put them in our yard.
There have been so many animals that have come into our lives while living in our home in Georgia. A few months after we moved out on our own, we discovered a puppy one morning on our porch. I named him Spot and he was the calmest dog on the face of the planet. We fed him and petted him each moment we had a chance. Justin got into the habit of even bathing him. Our neighbors found the puppy and brought into our yard.
After it started growing and barking, the neighbors grew frustrated. One day I go to work in a rush and Spot barked at me for attention. I looked at Spot and yelled, “Hey, I love you, but I really got to go!” I did not pet him and ran out the door. That same day, Justin went to the pet store to see how much the vaccinations would cost now that it got old enough. The lady at the pet store said, “well, how much does your dog weigh?” Justin said, “I’ll be right back, I’ll go check at home and tell you.” Justin went home and Spot was nowhere to be found. Spot was gone forever.
The neighbors had given Spot to their relatives in some village while Justin was at the pet store and I was at work. They did not even tell us that they were taking Spot. That morning was the last time I ever saw him. Spot may be dead or alive; I would never know. At least, we can visit Bono, our host family’s dog whenever we see our host family.
Months later, there were bunnies in our yard. Bunnies are not as friendly or warm to humans as children like to think. Justin attempted to grow an attachment to the bunnies, but they were not open to being petted. Regardless, we got used them trimming our yard from the ever growing grass. Several weeks go by and I saw my neighbor cutting tomatoes and other vegetables in an industrial size pot in the yard. That night, the bunnies were gone and so were their cage. Justin and I assumed that the bunnies were eaten that same night at some feast.
Last week, Justin calls me as I walking home from work to say, “by the way, we now have a rooster in our yard.” My reaction was, “huh, I wonder how long is that going to last.” After the dog and bunnies, the rooster for some reason did not surprise me. The rooster as it turns out also belongs to the same neighbor that owns the kittens. A couple of days ago, the neighbor thanked us for taking care of the rooster but still offered no explanation as to why the rooster was even there.
The three animals that still live with us are the three adult black, old cats. They are lazy and did not even kill the mice that were roaming around our house a couple of weeks ago. Out of all the animals, the three lazy old cats are probably my least favorite.
Regardless, I know that their disappearance was inevitable. My neighbors do not exactly communicate the livestock or pets with us when they come and go.