Sign of the Times?

There's a cat "mrah-EOW"-ing at my door. She wants out. Am I ready for what she wants to bring in?

If I let "Tickles" out,

two months from now,

we'll have a basket of Spring Kittens.


We just finished placing her fall litter one week ago.

Promptly after Thanksgiving, I started advertising. I took advantage of our area newspaper's offer to run a classified Give-Away ad for one week at no charge. The result? Two calls. No shows.

I wondered, "Is this: A Sign of the Times? A struggling economy? Pre-Christmas hustle? No one with energy for a pet? Time to have Tickles fixed?"

Aaron's mama cat is most content raising babies. They're always playful and friendly. And since we started newspaper advertising for "Free Kittens," we've found "Good Homes" for all within the week-long run.

This time I questioned, "What's to be done? I can't keep SEVEN cats!"

"Have you tried Craig's List?" a family friend asked. "Of course, you'll get some responses from freaks."

Kittens Online.

I was skeptical.

My doubts heightened when I registered. Website administrators warned against offering "free" kittens, bunnies or any small pets. They advised: Charge at least a small re-homing fee to guard against abusive people and others who feed "free" critters to their pet snakes.

Cautiously, I wrote and posted:

Five playful kittens, litter-boxed trained, will be two-months-old Christmas Eve and are ready for placement in good homes.

Inquiries slowly rolled in.

Among the first questions was: "Are they FREE?"

As the red flag waved, I replied "Yes, to those offering a good home. We're warned against people using kittens for target practice or snake bait."

Appalled, the inquirers often launched into their personal histories with cats and other animals, sometimes listing the vet clinic they’ve used to keep their pets’ medical records up to date. In return, I told our family’s history with Tickles and her grown, neutered son, Blizzard, who was now convalescing in our house after leg surgery as well as these kittens’ birth story on September 24, 2009.

From that rapport, we found adoptive homes for all five kittens.

Our calico female was a Christmas present to a girl in Wisconsin. Her brother got a gecko. Our first orange male was a house-warming gift for a young man who wanted a pet at home waiting for him. The second orange male was the HIS part of an engaged couple’s HIS and HERS pets. Hers was a poodle pup. The third orange male was part of a family cat-n-dog set. Two weeks after the adoption, Mom wrote that the two now curl up together. And the fourth male – once the timid runt – spent two weeks in our house with Tickles and Blizzard gaining social skills. To our pleasant surprise, a local family whose son is in my Sunday School class, adopted “Tiger” to fill a spot on their MOUSER team.

A Sign of the Times?


If the sign is

Craig's List

and painted

with PATIENCE,

then

YES!



So-o-o-o.... I'm wondering, do I open the door? Marh-EOW!