Should it stay or should it go?

During our studies in Canada a few years back we took in a small little black kitten who appeared in the neighbourhood one night and meowed at everyone who passed by. It was lonely. We gave it some food but didn't think we'd ever take it in. One day we decided we would since it was still hanging around and getting skinnier. We went to Safeway and bought food, litter, and something to give it a bath, and a flea collar. When we went home that night we brought it in, gave it a bath, and except for 2 incidents where it leaped from our balconey to visit homeless-cat-friends it had made while out on the street, it took to us and grew to love us. It was very vocal, loved sitting by our laptops as we typed our papers, and played hide-and-seek with us. In short, we grew to love "kitty" too.

We never thought we'd find another "kitty".

Lo and behold, a few days ago a strikingly patterned gray/black/white kitten showed up in our stairwell. It was starving for both food and companionship. But the outside here is far dirtier than in Vancouver, and what with Michelle pregnant, we didn't take it in. We did give it food, and it meowed and mewed and ate everything. The we let in inside one cold afternoon. It was in heaven! It laid down, rubbed its little head against us, tried to lay down beside us, and meowed whenever we left its side. I am still surprised little animals like this can be so vocal and expressive about their feelings.

Well, we let it out later that night and didn't see it for awhile.

It came back, looking for us. We watched Poseidon together with it. It watched us packing our bags. In the end we still let it out later because we don't know if it is litter trained, we don't know if it has worms, etc., and we didn't want it wandering around while we slept.


Winter is coming, and there is no guarantee someone else will take it in.

We are leaving in 19 days. Should we love it while we can? Or let it be to learn how to fend for itself now?

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