Impulsive? Perhaps.

I have been called a lot of things but impulsive is not one of them (unless you count the ice cream we had for dinner last week.)

 I do have a strong sense of what I want, however, and 95% of the time I know my limitations.

This past Friday morning our local humane society put out a call to arms over a popular social network that they were busting with litters of kittens that needed foster parents. I mentioned it ever-so-slightly to Larry early in the day...then I put in a 'harder sell' later in the day.

By 6:15pm we were in the car, Ella in tow heading to the humane society to see if we qualified as a foster family.

By 7:30, we were the proud foster family to these four little ones. Larry didn't know what hit him. There was not one question in my mind we were right where we were supposed to be.

And it has been a four ring circus. And it has been awesome.

My/our reasons were many but at the very core was that they need love and we have love to give. It has been a positive experience for Ella - the girl who has shown indifference (at best) towards pets of any kind. Because all four need medications each day to get them healthy again, she has become my trusty assistant picking up each kitten if she can catch them!

Believe it or not, it has also become a nice parallel to Ella's story. We are having continuous discussions about how we are doing our part to get the babies healthy and chubby so that they can each go to their forever family. It really is a tangible idea for her now!

We have had friends visit and are happy to expose the kittens to all sorts of hands, noises and attention. We know it will make them even better pets in their forever homes.

In four short days, they have won full run of the first floor while we are with them and then retire to their big crate (or cave, as Ella calls it) for sleeping and eating.

 

Just today, Ella started story time with them as they nap.

 

This is short term. All of the kittens (oh, two girls and two boys) must go back when they reach weight for being spayed or neutered. I suspect that will happen around their June 8 doctor visit. After surgeries, they will be perfect little adoptable kittens. Until then, we are loving them like they are in their forever family. Of course we know we run the risk of Ella being sad over their leaving. Part of us hopes she'll be sad. We want her to appreciate the wonder a pet can bring. You should all be worrying about how I'll handle it.



Suffice it to say, Ella's blog will be riddled with kitty photos for the next few weeks. Enjoy the extra cuteness!

~H