May 10, 2007

My Wild Siamese

Last month the local animal shelter asked me to foster a very pregnant feral (wild) cat. This beautiful Siamese mom now has six healthy and thriving kittens. Which I am DYING to play with now that they're starting to walk and play! They are SO cute!

But their mom has other ideas. She doesn't want me anywhere near her or her babies. Last night she let me know she was serious, and I walked away with several bleeding scratches.

So this morning I'm looking at this ferocious mom, and her darling kittens (one of whom is already hissing, too), and realizing if they hang out with her too long they won't be adoptable.

Then I think about how that happens to us, too. How when we hang out with certain kinds of people, we pick up their traits, which become ingrained within. That we sometimes carry for life.

You know, we show up here on our birthday, knowing everything's cool and it's a friendly Universe and all, and then along the way we learn to hiss and bite and scratch and defend.

But what I like about us is that we have the ability to change. I haven't had much luck taming feral cats in my 15 years of animal rescue. I actually don't even try any more if they're over 4 months old. But no matter how old WE are, there is always hope for change.

I talk with 70+ year old clients who are learning for the first time in their lives how to trust. I meet with 40+ year old executives who are realizing there's more love out there than they've been letting in. Not to mention my 20+ year old clients who are breaking new ground on their own.

We are such a fascinating species, capable of SO much! When we find ourselves somewhere we don't want to be, we're not stuck. We're not doomed. We can change. In fact, we ARE changing!

And surely, since we humans are so smart, I can figure out how to tame these kitties without upsetting mom and taking on any more scars. lol

Here's to changing the habits that don't serve us; releasing the patterns that keep us from the love and excitement and joy that await us, so we can live the lives we had in mind when we signed up for this go-round on Planet Earth.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Jeannette,

    You have such a menagerie! I love it.

    Your thoughts on ‘it’s never too late’ are just wonderful. Thank you.

    As for the kittens, they NEED to be handled between 3 and 6 weeks of age on a daily basis if you don’t want a litter of wild cats! Apparently that is the ‘socializing’ period for felines. How old are they now? I will help you with some strategies if need be—we’ll call on the goddess Bast if necessary to get them tamed!

    Xxx Kim

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  2. Yes!!! Let's call on Bast!! I hadn't THOUGHT of that!! I could use some help, for sure. They're four weeks now, and I can tell they're still forming opinions of me. They're at the "could go either way" stage. I probably should have friends come over as well, so it's not just me handling them, right?

    Thanks for the Bast suggestion. Is there a formal or suggested way to call in help?

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  3. Yes! Get friends to handle them too...feed them fishy yum yums...groom them and hold them. A great goal is to make each one purr every time you pick them up! (and the reward is its own!)

    Bast responds to our energy, our thoughts (surprise?) but I like to be formal. I have a Bast statue (actually, I have a Bast tattoo as well!) and I light candles around it and smile and say how grateful I am that she loves all the kitties in the world...and then I ask her to put a little light on your litter!

    xxx
    Kim

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