LeCat spent fourteen years with the same man, growing from a tiny kitten to a still small adult. He was obviously loved and indulged. He loves laps and scritches and gets so excited with his toys. He snuck up while I was dangling the wand toy for Toby and leaped and batted at it like a young kitten.
His owner had not wanted to give up LeCat. The man had to go into a nursing home and his relative brought us the cat. Normally I feel more sadness for the animals than the people who gave them up, but from everything I know this was not voluntary for the man and I feel awful for him. It has to be hard enough to move into a nursing home, how much worse must it be to do so while worrying about the fate of your beloved companion? I hope that man somehow knows in his heart that his little cat didn't spend long in the shelter and is now making feline and human friends and being cherished by a young lady. LeCat is safe and loved. I hope the man knows that somehow. Fate, God, a little bird, just somehow. My heart would be breaking if I ended up in the hospital (too young for a nursing home) and my family gave Toby to a shelter instead of finding a friend to take care of him.
While hospitalization/nursing homes aren't at all the same as death, they are an instance where a beloved pet can no longer be with their owner through no fault of said owner. We get a fair number of animals whose owners passed away and no one was willing to take the pet. I thank the heavens that I have multiple friends who have stepped up to say that they would take care of my cats should anything happen to me and they need a home (at some point Toby *will* get a permanent friend). Casey, Meg, and Jarrod have all offered to take them.
If you have pets, do you know who would take care of them if something happened to you? I know it could seem morbid, but it's important to think about. We've all seen those life insurance ads that ask "who would take care of your family?" Well, I'm not married and I don't have kids. I do have Toby. I feel better knowing he'll be taken care of no matter what happens to me. Don't you want the same peace of mind?
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