Not Much, But Some Kind Of Love - August 05, 2024

Saturdays can get hopping.  The last was unusually busy, we had more intakes than normal.  If half our birds survive that's a good ratio, by the time a wild bird can be picked up by a human it's in trouble.  My shift was almost over when a taxi pulled up to the front gate.  I went to see what was going down and there was a crying lady, youngish, holding something out to one of my co-workers, who was shaking her head.  The woman was almost in hysterics.  "I have no money", she kept saying, "And I don't know what to do.  Where can I take this"?  She held out what I thought was a white Guinea Pig.  "Help me, you guys save animals"!  She was sobbing and the cabbie looked like he had had all he could take.  I started to suggest the Humane Society but I couldn't remember if they were open or not and they almost certainly wouldn't take a drop in like this. 
"I can euthanize the animal for you, but that's all I can do".  She started crying more and insisted that I wait until she left.  I asked her what it was.  "A kitten", she replied and sure enough it was.  Huge for a newborn, blind and helpless.  The cabbie was nodding like he was hoping for God to get the kitty out of his life and his cab and the woman as well.
"I'll take the cat" I told her, "This ain't my first rodeo", true enough.  I took the cat and all the cat milk and bottles she had for it and took it down to my house.  It's tummy was distended and the warm water trick we use on the birds didn't work.  I put it in a box, covered it and got a heat lamp over it.  I got it to drink some milk. Then I sat down on the porch and wrote the lady that runs our local cat rescue.  Do you know anyone who can please help me get this cat a home for the love of Jesus, etc, etc....  I had just sent the message when our dispatcher called and wanted to know if someone had tried to bring us a kitten.  Yes, I replied.  Well they wanted it back now.  Hot damn, I thought, a miracle.  Sure, tell them to shag ass over here and take this cat from me.
When the lady got here it was obvious she was annoyed.  She had given that kitten to a neighbor, and as it turns out that neighbor was a nutcase.  Why on Earth she didn't just bring the little thing back I have no idea.  Anyway, she took the cat and I thought that was the end of it.  Yesterday my boss forwarded a letter from that lady thanking me as if I had jumped into Niagara Falls to save the kitten's life.  She wrote that it had died and was now buried under her Flame Bush and she thanked me for trying to help.  Trying my ass, I didn't do anything.  3 days of life, shortened by the death cab for cutie incident. This whole episode just got shortlisted on my bad situations list.

Kitten photo property of TheCatSite.