----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2005 11:13
AM
Subject: My Calico Kitty Angels
Hi, Everyone--
Pam Jackson of Carocats in Columbia, SC, has been
kind enough to tell you all about the feral colony of cats and
kittens (some positive, some negative for felv) that I have been caring
for and trying to find homes for. At the moment we are slowly testing
and spaying them all. I say slowly because my heat pump (air
conditioner/heating unit) in my house is rusting out and needs to be
replaced. They are putting a new one in on Tuesday and Wednesday, which
includes ripping out all the old ductwork under the house, to the tune of
$6100.00. So my feral cat funds are limited.
We are trying to find homes for the positive and
negative ones, and if you know anyone looking for a very sweet, pretty new cat
or kitten send them this link www.bemikitties.com/carocats/pg7.html
Pam also mentioned my new book, THE YEAR OF THE
CAT: NEW POEMS ($12.95), which just came out this fall. It is my 30th
book (I am a poet by profession) and has been nominated for the Pulitzer
Prize. It has also been chosen to appear in the New Media section of the
January issue of Cat Fancy magazine. The second section of the book
tells the story in poems of how I came to care for these sweet feral
cats. You can find more info on it at www.kittyfeatherpress.blogspot.com,
www.apbooks.net, and www.amazon.com. A percentage of the
sales of all my books go to animal rescue shelters and homeless
shelters. If you live in South Carolina I have two book signings coming
up. One at Waldenbooks at Dutch Square Mall in Columbia, SC, from
2:00-5:00 on November 26. And another at Waldenbooks at Columbiana Mall
in Columbia, SC, from 1:00 - 4:00 on December 3. Both are on
Saturdays.
I mention all of this because I want to tell you
the story of the two calico twin kittens that Pam also mentioned a few days
ago. We didn't test the kitties originally for felv because they are all
so fat and happy and energetic, no runny eyes or noses, and eat like
hogs. A very nice lady called Pam and wanted a calico kitten to be an
outdoor cat with her two other mature cats at her home which sits on 7
acres. Pam didn't have one that could be an outdoor cat at the time, but
both of the calico kittens I had were tree climbers and live in the woods
behind my house, so we thought it would be a good match. I had raised
these kittens on my porch since they were 5 weeks old when their mother first
brought them to see me, so they were tame. Now they were 3 and a half
months old and gorgeous. The lady decided to take both when she heard
they were twins, and I thought all went well until I got a message two days
later on my answering machine from her sadly telling me the kittens were
dead. She had taken them to her vet, and they had both tested positive
for felv, and he suggested to her that they should be put down
immediately. I was devastated because if I had been called first I would
have taken them back in a second. The next day was the first signing for
my book at Books on Main in Newberry, SC. I had cried all day after I
received that message, and it was all I could do to get it together to do the
book signing the next day. But I kept thinking of my precious calico
kittens as my kitty angels that had come back to me and would be with me at
the book signing and forever. And I believe they were.
From the fist moment I heard they were gone I
began to write a poem called WEDNESDAY about them as a memorial so they
wouldn't be forgotten. I sent a copy of it to Pam when I finished, and
she mentioned it in one of her emails about my feral colony. When I take
some of these cats in to get them ready for adoption I keep them in the
bathroom next to the kitchen. There I give them baths and flea
treatments and train them to use the litter box, etc. What was
particularly hard for me was the fact I had spent the day before in that
bathroom doing all this with the calico twins and telling them how lucky they
were to be going to such a wonderful new home. I had no idea I was
sending them to their death. Here is the poem I wrote (I named the
tiny kitten Rosebud and the chubby one Azalea). I am
including this poem for those of you who have gone though a similar
experience or who have lost a precious fur child recently. I hope it
makes you feel better. Much love to you
all, Laura
WEDNESDAY
(c) Laura Stamps
Almost four months old,
ruddy as rosebuds or azaleas,
they scuffled on the porch
every evening, the tiniest
one turning to slap her paws
against the glass door, as if
she were swimming. Twins,
they huddled together in the
corner of the bathroom that
afternoon, a puddle of calico,
their eyes content to converse
in the silent consonants and
vowels of cats. The heavy
one only howled when the
other, sweet as the scent
of a spring blossom, stood
in my lap, her paws on my
chest, eager to kiss my chin,
as if she knew they would
surely return to me on Friday,
ribboned with velveteen
wings.
