Romping and Roaring
Roary 3
As those of you who have read the Acknowledgements to my new release, Wolf’s Soul (Firekeeper Saga 8, for more details go here), you know that a few months ago, my much, much beloved cat Keladry died without warning, probably from a stroke or aneurysm.
Kel had self-appointed herself my assistant, so her loss left a particularly big hole. I still expect her to come running when she hears my computer go on or to be able to reach over and pat her when I pause to consider what next.
But, if there’s anything I’ve learned from the losses in my life, it’s that choosing not to love as a protection against the pain of loss is a soul-destructive course of action.
And so, meet Roary.
After we lost Kel at the end of February, we wanted to get a new feline as soon as possible. Kwahe’e (who is now over eighteen and increasingly fragile) has always liked newcomers, but we weren’t sure how either Persephone or Mei-Ling would react. Persephone is sweet but can be aggressive, while Mei-Ling is very shy. Right now, Kwahe’e provides the balance between them.
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Kwahe’e: Roary’s Calming Influence
However, there simply weren’t kittens available at the shelter until recently. At the end of April, the shelter started posting kittens to the website (the site provides individual listings for adoptable animals). However, with the Covid-19 shutdown, the shelter is closed except by appointment. Therefore, once the site started showing more than an occasional kitten, I made us an appointment. The closest date I could get was a week out and…
Yep, you got it, by that date (which was a week ago) there were no kittens listed at the shelter.
That Wednesday morning, I had a phone call checking if we were still coming in. I explained that we were specifically looking for a kitten, and asked if they had any who weren’t listed on the site. The lady (Cassie) said, no, the only available kitten was at the other shelter and appointments couldn’t be switched.
Very reasonably, Cassie tried to interest me in several young adults. I explained why we needed a kitten, explaining that we’d adopted Mei-Ling from the shelter last August as an excruciatingly shy kitten and, although we’d done a lot to help her be brave, we felt she’d be intimidated by someone bigger than her.
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Roary and Mei-Ling
I asked, “Do you have any kittens who aren’t ready for adoption, but who we could reserve?” Cassie replied, “We’re not doing reservations, but I could talk to our foster-care coordinator and explain your need.” About twenty minutes later, I heard from a very enthusiastic lady named Carolyn.
Apparently, a kitten who had been brought into the shelter as an injured stray–something had attacked him and sliced through the leg muscles on his left leg so that they literally peeled off the bone (this is called “gloving”)–was now recovered from surgery. He was doing well, but needed to go to a foster home while he finished healing. The city shelter has a “foster-to-adopt” program, as long as the household does not exceed the limit for number of cats. We don’t.
I gave Carolyn my references, including our vet clinic, who we’ve been using for over twenty years, through some remarkable pet adventures. Then I got off the phone and bounced off the walls in excitement until Jim got home from running errands.
I valiantly withheld my news until Jim had a chance to wash his hands and mask, although I’ll admit, this was a struggle. As I expected, Jim was as thrilled as I was, so I phoned Carolyn back asked when we could come get our new foster. She said, “Come any time,” and we were out the door with Jim’s mask still slightly damp.
Our new foster was seven weeks old, white with random black spots. The shelter had called him “ItsyBitsy,” but we’re going to call him Rorschach, Rory (or as Jim wants to spell it “Roary” because he can be very loud) since his blots form different pictures when he moves or bends.
Roary spends his unsupervised time in our spare guinea pig hutch to keep him from climbing and jumping, but he’s very playful and active. He still has a little trouble with the left leg, but he’s certainly doing his P.T. to rebuild the damaged connections. If you look at the first photo, you can see the healing incision. It’s pretty impressive.
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Roary and Persephone
Best of all, unlike when we brought Mei-Ling home and Persephone completely panicked, our excitable girl seems to really like her new “little brother.” We guess that this is because kittens are no longer a new concept. She hisses at him a little, but isn’t terrified or hostile—more like “Keep your distance, squirt.”
Mei-Ling is also interested in Roary. Rather than going to hide, she loves to watch him and even lets him play within a few inches of her, as long as she doesn’t get pounced. Apparently, her great fear is unfamiliar humans, which makes me think she must have had some bad experiences before she ended up in the shelter.
So, we’re optimistic.
Look forward to more pictures of Roary. My guess is that he’s going to be a really big cat, because in just a week he’s visibly grown.
No matter how big he gets, Roary will never fill the hole that Kel left, but that’s not how love works. You never stop loving those you’ve lost. You don’t try to replace them. You just open up to new love, new experiences, new challenges.
