Adopting a Rescue Kitty: Lessons in Love

On August 27, 2018 I officially adopted Colby, a one-year old gray and black tabby cat from my local Humane Society. I really wanted to rescue a cat and adopt a cat who needed a good home.  Colby stole my heart with his cute picture and his biography online which his story that tugged at my heart strings.  One neat thing is that my local humane society’s webpage links to the PetHarbor website where you can search via cat/dog/other pet, the pet’s age, gender, color, and size; you can even view pics and pet biographies.

Colby has special needs- not only did his owner who was older pass away, but Colby also was turned over to the local Humane Society so he likely suffered from feeling abandoned.  My kitty can be clingy and seems to have separation anxiety when I have to leave him alone (which has been getting better over time and with lots of love and TLC). I suspect this is due to the ordeal that he went through.  I have pondered how Colby lost almost everything. He lost his owner, his home, the food he ate, the toys he had, any other pets that he lived with, and even what veterinarian he went to. Losing almost everything can take a toll. We may not think about that with our pets like we do with people, but we would be wise to be more thoughtful about our pets emotional needs and health.

Adopting Colby has brought a very special joy and love to my life. I have learned numerous lessons about love on a deeper level.

1. Love is unconditional.

Since I adopted Colby, he has scratched and clawed my couch over 50 times.  I purchased a scratching post and assembled it for him which he has never used. Then I bought two more scratching pads because I read online that cats can be particular with their scratching pads.  Colby continued to scratch my couch still, so I covered my couch with three blankets. Sometimes Colby will still go under the blankets in order to scratch the couch.  It is highly frustrating, but it is a good lesson in patience and unconditional love.

2. Love is forgiving.

Love also is forgiving.  Colby and I both have had to work on this.  As a new “kittty mom,” I have not been perfect.  I do my best to clean Colby’s litter box daily, give him love daily, and use positive praise and treats. However, sometimes I have gotten frustrated when he has yet again scratched my couch or when he scratched my face and drew blood when he was trying to play with my hoodie string.  People and kitties are not perfect, but love is forgiving.

3. Love needs quality time.

Colby will definitely let me know when he does not get enough quality time.  It does not matter how many treats I give him or how much praise I give him, if he feels that I am neglecting him, then I can see it in his actions- that is when he starts knocking things down off tables, acting really aggressively with his toys, and ignoring me when I call his name and tell him that I love him.  So that makes me wonder about a pet insight.  I wonder if pets, like people, have a primary love language? Author Gary Chapman wrote a fantastic book called The Five Love Languages.  While it is focused on human relationships, I suspect it may also work for love languages with pets.  My kitty’s primary language is DEFINITELY quality time.  There is no substitute.

4. Love thinks deeply about the needs of another.

When I am out shopping, I often think of things that my kitty would like.  My finances reflect this truth. Also, when I come home and am tired after a draining day at work, sometimes I do not feel like playing with my kitty.  But he ADORES his game where the ball goes around the circle (see picture below).  We play it together typically every day where he bats the ball to me and I bat the ball back to him.  It is so much fun and the highlight of my day.  I don’t want to be too tired to miss it.  Love cares about needs and desires of another and other puts those needs first.

Colby, my adopted kitty, with his favorite toy (photo by Julie A. Smith)

If you are interested in adopting a cat or dog, I highly encourage you to check out the pets at your local humane society who need a good home, or check out Pet Harbor, a website that locates pets in many U.S. (and I believe also Canadian) cities at http://petharbor.com/.

 

 

More Semi-Random Musings from My World (the Avengers)

More Semi-Random Musings from My World:

1. Marvel’s new Avengers movie rocks!!! ! Yeah, I know, deep thoughts from my world.  I don’t want to ruin the movie for anyone who has not seen it, but I think that at this point of the weekend, you may be in the minority if you have NOT seen it yet.  I believe that I read on the internet that it had the second best opening weekend EVER.  (And I read that sometime on Saturday).  So yeah, I saw a 10:15 am showing on Friday (my vacation day), which is kind of “crazy”, but it was to accommodate my friends afternoon work schedules (the Avengers is 2 hours 23 minutes long, but I think that previews were like 21 minutes…..so we got out of the movie at around 1 pm, actually).  For longer movies, sometimes I wish there was an intermission, because you hate to get up and miss anything in the movie in order to run to the restroom or get a popcorn refill.  I polished off my kid’s meal popcorn during the previews (it’s small), and the movie theatre that I was at gives free popcorn refills, but I didn’t want to miss the movie, so it was hard to take advantage of that exceedingly cool facet.  Anyways, it was quite fun to be one of the first of American audiences to view The Avengers, unless you were one of the mass of humanity at the midnight showings around the country.

I loved Joss Whedon’s (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame) directing of The Avengers.  He directed it with a human side, which I appreciate immensely, and the interpersonal focus on the characters and their interactions was 100% compelling.  There is an article on Joss and his directing and The Avengers in my new May 2012 issue of Wired magazine.  The article talks about ‘The Whedon Way”, and I completely saw the part about how Whedon’s characters are quite aware of their own weaknesses and strengths, and they are good at voicing them.  Whedon is quoted as saying, “It’s a flaw in my work that is enough of a virtue that I let it slide” and “I make people ridiculously self-aware because I hate deception.” (May 2012 Wired magazine, page  175).

There was such a depth to the characters of The Avengers, and it was interesting to see the nitty-gritty human side that is often left out of action movies, or under-valued and under-developed in favor of explosive special effects and all the bells and whistles.  I found myself appreciating the differences of personality and giftedness of all the characters, and I saw the theme and importance of unity in order to come together and accomplish great things.  “No man (or woman) is an island”, as the old saying goes, and you know what?  It is true.  Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.  Once the Avengers stopped fighting amongst themselves, then they were able to become a team and achieve the hopes and objectives that Nick Fury has for them.  Also, a human emotional piece in the Avengers that stood out to me was that I saw how Natasha (a.k.a. Black Widow) was somewhat tormented by her past….wanting to erase the “red in her ledger” (as she kept saying at one point of the movie) and obtain a clean slate.  A clean slate is so liberating and so freeing.  Who among us hasn’t desired that at one point of our lives?  I think that is the importance of grace (and, because of my faith beliefs, I think that is the importance of Jesus, redemption, and forgiveness).  This world that we are all a part of is not one that promotes grace, and that old song “What have you done for me lately?” (Jodi Whatley?) rings true in our perfomance-oriented, hurried, and score-card keeping American society.  I can preach to the choir sometimes, and this topic of grace is one that I am still learning, with scraped knees and frustration with myself (and others) along the way.

Also, I need to point out that while I can appreciate characters like Captain America, and his unwavering focus on bravery, rules, and always doing the right thing, and I enjoy Hawkeye’s talent for bow and arrow (he and Katniss Everdeen are single-handedly helping the old school bow and arrow make a comeback), however, I found myself appreciating more the strengths of Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man) and seeing a new side of him in this movie.  Honestly, I didn’t see the first Iron Man movie (just the second one), so this may not be a perfect synopsis or character representation, but from what I can tell (and from his own self-awareness, a.k.a Joss Whedon style), he can be brash, cocky, self-absorbed, and brilliant (and he knows it), but he also has many other sides that are beautiful.  He really comes full circle when he realizes the importance of unity and working with others. He has so much to bring to the table: such strength, smarts, a philanthropy spirit….and in the end he is noble and brave and willing to sacrifice for a cause he cares about.  Quite beautiful, indeed.

Well, I had a few others things that I have pondered lately, but I am actually going to leave this post just with my personal thoughts on the Avengers.  I think that anything else would lesson what I feel led to say, and my other ponderings may just be future posts for another time, or my own introspective musings and self-awareness.