Cat Tales

It’s been a while since I’ve shared a cat story, but apparently the universe decided I needed another one.

I walked in the door late one night after work, only to have my mother tell me, “We have an overnight house guest.” Oh? Then a tiny kitten popped out from under a chair.

Oh great. That was exactly what I didn’t need.

Of course, it became my problem to deal with. My joke has been that “Mom brought home problems,” so naturally, I named the kitten Problems.

Apparently, a neighbor had seen the kitten and brought it to my house because she couldn’t think of anywhere else to take it. So, naturally, she brought it to the house with nine cats, a puppy and more than enough stress already. Awesome.

My first thought was to call a friend who had recently lost his longtime cat. Needless to say, that didn’t work out. He already has plans to take a brother-and-sister pair of kittens. I contacted another friend in a similar situation, but they aren’t ready for another cat. So, now I get to find Problems a new home.

I am absolutely not looking for cat No. 10. I can’t afford another cat, and I certainly don’t have the mental energy for one right now. Then I discovered Problems had fleas.

Apparently, Mom and the neighbor had already given the kitten a bath. They did not do a very good job. I grabbed the flea comb and started pulling fleas out. Then it was back to the sink for a bath.

After another thorough bath, combing and drying, the kitten was finally clean. It also had a slight upper respiratory infection—basically a kitty cold, which is fairly common in abandoned outdoor kittens. I’ve been treating it as best I can with medication, along with deworming.

The next day, I found more fleas. Apparently, I had not done a good enough job the first time, so Problems got another bath. This time, it was coated in soap, combed, soaked and rinsed what felt like a thousand times. I was picking dead fleas off the poor thing that seemed to be stuck like velcro.

Then came the fun part: tearing apart the house to keep the fleas from becoming an infestation. The other cats got flea and tick treatments. Everything was vacuumed and washed. I even set up homemade flea traps—basically a little dish soap in water on a white plate under a bright light at night. I caught two fleas. So far, so good. I haven’t seen any more.

Problems is doing much better now, but it needs a home as soon as possible. I’ve contacted local shelters, but they are full. Apparently, nobody is interested in a kitten, which I find hard to believe.

I don’t have the money right now for another vet visit and kitten food, especially with everything else going on.

But despite the rough start, this little kitten is doing remarkably well. It is barely bigger than my hand, but it is already running up and down the stairs, climbing the cat tree and trying to make friends with my cats.

My cats, however, are not particularly impressed with the new roommate. The puppy also hasn’t figured out that a kitten is not a chew toy and needs to learn how to play gently. Needless to say, everyone is a little stressed.

And I’m already beyond stressed. Mom is still dealing with cancer, and adding a sick, flea-covered kitten to the household was really not something I needed right now. So, in the future, please consider not bringing me more stray animals. I cannot deal with it. There is already more than enough stress in this household.

That said, I have to admit that Problems is a pretty great little cat. The kitten is incredibly sweet, cuddly and social. It sleeps next to me all night, much to the disapproval of my cats. It likes cats and dogs, has a very loud purr and clearly wants a friend to play with. It is eating both kibble and wet food and is full of energy. I’m not even certain of the kitten’s sex yet, but I am certain of one thing: Problems is ridiculously cute.

If anyone is interested in giving this little troublemaker a loving home, please let me know. After all the work that has gone into getting Problems healthy and flea-free, this kitten will be a strictly indoor cat.