It will soon be time for Halle and her kittens to have their first vaccination, so I am taking a break from capturing other stray cats for neutering for a couple of weeks. This week marks my 3rd week of trying to find my lovely little Felicity a good home.
Stopped by the wet market on my way to the SPCA to pick up the usual 2 kilos of peeled garlic. Arrived at the SPCA and set up Felicity’s cage and signboard. Handed the garlic to Mazni for cooking. Mun Yee dropped by to hand over cat food and newspapers to me for Project Second Chance.
Rose and I started shampooing and grooming the dogs in Kennels A and B. I prepared a pail of tickwash to rinse them with. It was sorely needed because a few of the new arrivals had infested the others with fleas. We had a teenager helping us, which is very encouraging, but I was concerned that the girl was immersing her hands unprotected into the bucket of tickwash, and so I offered to either lend her my rubber gloves or have her not do the tick rinse. She opted not to touch the tickwash instead.
After we had done all the dogs in Kennels A and B, I went out to the front of the shelter to get the cleaning equipment. I discussed the spaying of Felicity with Dr. Pushpa and she agreed that Felicity could be safely neutered by Monday. I held Felicity for a while and promised her that if she were not adopted, I would bring her home after her neutering.
A young family arrived to try to adopt a companion for their kitten which was adopted earlier from the SPCA. They had hoped to get a Persian kitten for breeding later, and this made Reve impatient. The vets and I took over from Reve and explained the SPCA’s neutering requirement to the family. They were happy to comply after being informed of the benefits of neutering, and were content to adopt any active and friendly kitten as a companion. As I spoke to them, I realized they were quite experienced in caring for multiple cats. I introduced them to Felicity, but also invited them to look around the shelter to see if there were any cats they would like to bring home.
They came back to Felicity and were very keen to adopt her, as they wanted an active and friendly cat, and Felicity fitted the bill. I explained that Felicity was to be neutered on Monday, and they could always place a booking fee for her and pick her up next Saturday after she has recovered from the surgery. They agreed, and paid the adoption fee in full without hesitation. They had no problems with the one-week wait and promised to bring their other kitty over for neutering when they come over on Saturday.
After the family had paid up and left, I hugged Felicity and told her that I would always love her. I will never forget her, but I pray she forgets me; and forgets me soon, so she could learn to love her new family instead. I pray she will live a healthy, happy and long life, and promised that if she ever gets returned, I will come and get her and bring her home, no matter what. As an animal rescuer, I will have to get used to having to say goodbye to my animal wards very often, but I pray that it will always only be ‘good’ goodbyes – ones that precede adoptions by kind and responsible individuals – and not the ‘other’ kind of goodbyes.
Dr. Pushpa asked me to put Felicity in the surgery to rest because Felicity’s constant contact with me would only make the transition more difficult. Reluctantly, I said goodbye and godspeed to Felicity and closed the door on my beloved kitty. I will always bless the day I found her begging at the stalls with her eyes half-blind from infection. I bless the day she came into my life and I hope her new family feels the same way about her.
Proceeded to clean the shelter. Soaped, scrubbed, disinfected and washed the Cattery, Maternity Kennels, Admin/Reception area, puppy kennels and food preparation area. Sugen offered to do the rinsing when I was done so I could clean myself up and head on home.
The drive home felt so lonesome without Felicity playing with her jingle ball in her carrier on the backseat. I reached the Bachelor Officers’ Quarters, fed and cleaned up after the cats, tidied the house, showered and drove over to Jessica’s dad’s house to pick up the puppy. I had wanted to name him Ruffus but the parents wanted Cody, which is a pleasantly masculine name and I am certain Cody is a name any dog will feel proud to respond to.
Reached the parental home around dinnertime, introduced Cody to the parents and Amber, had dinner, did the washing up and spent the rest of the night in the company of the dogs.
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