Kitana & The Kittens That Found Us

On October 19, 2015, we put our dear Kitana kitty to sleep. She followed her sister Mileena whom we put to rest just over a year ago and whom I blogged about then.  You can read more of their shared history on Mileena's post.

It has now been nearly 3 months without her, our pumpkin Kitana-bear.  She was always the alpha-female of the two sisters - the bigger one, more social, always caring for her meeker twin.  After Mileena died, Kitana was clearly lonely and in mourning. No one -- no one -- can tell me that our companion animals do not grieve or have feelings.  She dropped much of her weight in the next few months, and it was clear that her own pain was increasing. Since she was now a 'lonely only,' we treated her with as much extra love and spoiling as possible. She got outside "catio" time in the sunshine, and Jesse always made it a point to hold her in a certain way that eased her pain.  Suddenly, in October, she made a drastic turn for the worse after suffering a UTI in September.  We had vowed that we wouldn't wait as long as we had with Mileena, and so, we wrapped her in a blanket, and took her to the vet one last time.

I fell into one of my valleys of depression after she was gone. Her death seemed so much more final than Mileena's. Now, there were no cats in the house at all.  I missed them both so desperately.  They had been my constant companions, especially in 2008 when Chris died and I moved to Greenville. Jesse had grown to love them so much, too, and it was hard for us to face the house without them. After 17 years, I did not have a cat pattering through the rooms, leaping lightly on bed, or snuggling next to me at night.  However, I thought that Jesse and I should wait to adopt new kitties until January.  It seemed as though we needed to wait and give Kitana her due.  Both of the girls were gone, and we couldn't just replace them by adopting more.

People told us that the right cats would "find us."  I had no problem believing and expecting this to happen. Cats are spirit-filled, after all. I do believe many of the myths surrounding them, even the idea that they have (or even steal!) souls. A friend told me several years ago that one morning, his cat was watching an empty space in his apartment with great attention.  Suddenly, my friend had a thought: "If you are a ghost in this room, move around for us," he said. The cat's eyes then trailed the along the walls and around the space, as though she was watching someone or something move around the room.  My friend said it was one of the most frightening and peaceful experiences of his life. Cats have an awareness -- a sight into the spirit world. The ancients recognized this, so why shouldn't we?

It is fair to say that we lasted all of two weeks tops before we found cats, or they found us.

As supporters of stray rescue in St. Louis, we wanted to adopt from Tenth Life.  We filled out our application and received approval.  We knew we wanted two kittens from the same litter, and we soon found Sparrow and Kinglet on the web site.  I could tell they would be a perfect fit for us.  We had to delay meeting them, however, because Jesse had a week-long travel trip. We set up a Friday evening appointment to visit them at their foster home as soon as Jesse returned.  Little did we know that the feline universe had additional plans.

When Jesse's boss and co-worker dropped him off at our home after their trip, Jesse was greeted by a grey and white tabby kitten.  It was just sitting on the sidewalk outside our house, looking at Jesse as though it had just been waiting for him to get home.  The kitten ran right up to Jesse and then turned toward the house, clearly ready to come right in.  Jesse texted me, "I found a kitten." He followed up with this photo:

Ashes, the stray who found Jesse

I knew he was ours. Moreover, I knew he was Jesse's.

Granted, we did a fair amount -- half-heartedly -- to find his previous home, but the vet revealed that he'd been on his own enough to have fleas and mites.  He also wasn't neutered or chipped.  Once we offered him food, he ate with gusto. We did what we could, but we already loved this kitten, so (truth be told) we did the "ethical minimum" to locate any owners.

But what about the two others? How many cats could we have? Would they all get along?

On the very day we found this new kitten, we went to visit our new wards. Kinglet and Sparrow were perfect kittens, and just a few weeks younger than the kitten we'd found. Of course we would care for them all.  I always told people that two cats were as easy as one, so three were certainly as easy as two, right?  The next day, we brought Sparrow and Kinglet (now Ripley) home to meet the recently named Ashes.

After a day or two of hissing and unease, the two siblings eventually began to tolerate Ashes, then play-fight with him, and finally, everyone was snuggling with everyone.  If Ashes was meant for us, he was clearly meant for Sparrow and Ripley, too.

Sparrow

Ripley

Kitty triptych: Ashes, Sparrow, Ripley

Sparrow uses Ashes as a pillow

As we simultaneously grieved Kitana and adopted Ashes, Ripley, and Sparrow last fall, we realized that Kitana isn't really gone, nor is Mileena.  Their spirits are very much alive in the three kittens who found us.  In fact, we like to imagine that the souls of our previous kitties are bound up in the souls of these three.  We mark the habits that the cats share: Sparrow refuses to be held, just like Mileena. Ripley loves hair ties and milk bottle rings like Kitana. Ashes enjoys being held on his back in the same way that Jesse held Kitana.

The spirits of animals are deep and full of knowledge.  I'm so thankful that all of these cats knew when and where to find me on the journey.