Hey Dads! Did you ever have pets that gave birth to more pets at your house? Did you ever have to give any of them away? Or maybe you were very smart and intentional to have valuable pets so when those pets had more pets you could sell some of the new pets. You might recall one of my other stories that described our three cats each giving birth to five kittens for a total of 15 kittens.
Despite what some of the small people in my house wanted, we weren’t going to keep all those kittens. We’ve got a barn with some hens and ducks and the occasional cow and pigs in the past so we can use a few cats to keep the mice under control. But not EIGHTEEN! And cats cannot live on mice alone. Keeping mice away can get expensive when you add a $30 or $40 giant bag of cat food to each grocery bill.
We started spreading the word (well, I did most of the spreading) that we had kittens to give away. I told friends and family but that didn’t make much of an impact on the pet population around here. So, I put up a post on social media, being careful with my words, as I would soon learn that social media frowns upon the sale of “animals and animal parts”. I was not even “selling” animals or animal parts! I was just trying to give them away out of the goodness of my heart!
After about a week we had managed to free ourselves from the frenzy of felines…almost. Five left. We were going to keep two (Runty, Tubby, or Louie, which is short for “Mangey Illusion”, an affectionate name given to a kitten by a teenager in my house that wasn’t even mangey at all). A nice lady asked if I could deliver 2 into town. Of course I could!
As I was getting ready to go to town I asked the kids to collect kittens. We realized we would have to give away 2 of the kids’ favorites – Runty, Tubby, and/or Louie. This resulted in tears and pleading and protesting and chanting and children going on strike with fists in the air wielding signs and shouting in unison, “Keep The Kittens! Keep The Kittens!” Or at least that’s how it seemed to me.
Here I had a dad decision to make. I had an opportunity to free our family from the remaining cabal of cats. I asked the boys to load up Tubby and Louie into a nice, ventilated box. This we soon learned was Mission Impossible. No matter how fast we folded cardboard or taped seams those kittens would scramble out of that box! We first tried both in one box then we tried each one in their own roomy box then we tried both in a bigger roomier comfortier box but to no avail. I was now late for my meeting with Nice Lady. Finally, with four of us herding kittens and being lacerated by claws we were able to get them in a nice big box and keep it shut. I jumped in the van for the 20-minute drive to town. You’ll never guess what happened…2 minutes down the road and Tubby and Louie were perched on my lap gazing out the window as the pastures rolled by. And there they sat like royalty until we got to town and they went to their new home. So long, Louie and Tubby.
As I finished my errands in town I reflected on the day and felt like a bad dad. Why would I give away the kittens the kids wanted to keep? Maybe it was a mistake and I apologized to the kids when I got home. They forgave me and haven’t brought it up since. They still have Runty and a couple others to keep them company. Maybe you’ve made a mistake and need to apologize to your kids about something. Just do it, dad! Time flies! Make every moment count! Even the kittens-in-the-car ones.
Jason Weening counts kittens with his 10 forgiving kids and 1 forgiving wife. Get his book on Amazon, “Yes, Dear…I’m Watching Them”.