How did I get sucked in?

I'll be heading over to Petsmart to handle a cat adoption. I was able to adopt a kitty out last night but they couldn't take it home that night so they'll be back to get it next week. The girl I'm going to meet tonight was also approved last night but she didn't have proof of a pet deposit so she is supposed to bring that with her tonight. I really hope that she has it so that I don't make the trip for nothing. That would just irritate me.

I've been pondering today. I've been trying to figure out how I became so involved with the Friends of Animals Georgia cat adoptions. I went in and adopted a cat (smokey) from them in October 2002. Smokey was lonely so we found ourselves back in November picking up Mischief.

We leashed trained the cats so we would take them to Petsmart to show FOA how they were growing. On one of the visits by, G showed us a little 3 week old kitten that had been abandoned and we somehow managed to leave the store with the little kitten. My mom bottle fed it during the day and I took it at night. This was my first foster and as I look back, the beginning of my downfall. Mom ended up keeping Gizmo cause she got very attached while feeding and playing with her during the days and Gizmo has since found a happy home with Valerie for which I thank God every day.

We continued to visit petsmart but resisted fostering another kitten until April 04. While talking to G, the manager brought over this box that had been left outside the store with 4 little kittens in it. G told him that she was full and had absolutely no room to take them so the manager talked about calling animal control. I couldn't stand the thought of animal control getting these little guys so I offered to take them home and try to find new homes for them until G had room. She was very grateful and we went home with 3 little girls and 1 little boy. We found home for the 3 girls but the little boy (Spike) had somehow managed to worm his way into our hearts and we ended up with permanent cat number 3.

Then in December 04, I was feeling the need to have a little kitten around again. There was no way that I would be able to handle having 4 cats of my own so I asked G if she had anyone that she would let us foster for 1 weekend. She happily agreed to let us take home Jack and Dax (we couldn't resist giving them names). I enjoyed the kittens all weekend and promptly gave them back on Sunday afternoon. I got a call around a week later from G asking me if I could sit in during an adoption session to help her make sure that she filled the paperwork out right cause she wasn't feeling well. Fast forward to today and I'm running the adoptions on my own 3 days a week until G gets better. She so thrilled with the work that I'm doing that she's thinking of letting me handle one of the nights a week to help her out since she's getting older. The scary thing is that I am considering doing this for her.

We've been bringing kittens home with us to foster almost every weekend since G went in the hospital so that G's husband doesn't have to deal with 20 kittens at home. I've found myself thinking of starting a webshot album full of pictures of the kittens that we've fostered. Which brings me to today. I sit here wondering what happened? I used to just think about myself but now I worry about those poor helpless kittens.

I had a man ask me last night how I could say that declawing a cat was considered a form of animal cruelty and then turn around and spay/neuter the cats without thinking that that is cruelty. I told him that when they declaw, they cut off one of the cats joints and can cause permanent pain to the animal while when we spay/neuter, we are in the long run sparing the animal the pain of childbirth or the pain of an angry owner from the spraying or howling from heat and we are also saving the kittens they might of had from possible harm. This is the FOA point of view and I spouted it off without really thinking about it. I do find myself wondering if Mischief would have been a good mom and if her kittens would have looked like her. When I start to consider it though, I'm glad that I never have to worry about something happening to her during labor or about what to do if one of her kittens were to die or what would happen to the kittens once they were old enough to leave her. I know that I would wonder all my life where they were and if they were happy but by having her neutered I don't worry. I also find myself wondering if she would miss the kittens. I think she would. When we found homes for Spike's sisters, she wondered around the house for weeks crying and searching for them. She still doesn't like Spike out of her site.

I'm starting to wonder when I became the softy hippie :)

hmm... the ponderings of a bored person :)