His Brother's Keeper?

By my calculations, I had between 15-20 minutes to round up the kittens, button up the barn, feed the horses and get myself inside before the storm hit. The thunder was no longer in the distance and the lightening no longer held my fascination--it was too close for comfort.

First the kittens, then the horses, I decided. Uncle Charlie's always easy to catch; in fact, he practically dives into my hands. The other two, however, are quite another story. Almost every night as I manage to get one or two inside the barn, Ernie weasels by racing at high speed toward the corral for one last dump before calling it a day. Even though time was of the essence I stepped back and allowed him his business. Quickly, he pawed, sniffed, rejected, scooted, pawed, sniffed, then finally sat over his freshly made divot.

The horses decided they couldn't wait their turn. Eager for their groceries, all five led by Koda came thundering around the corner of the barn. By the look on Ernie's face I'd say that if he hadn't been in mid crap he would have pooped himself. With the sound and sight of approaching horses, he flew straight into the air, pinched the loaf, then scrambled as his feet hit the ground finding safety on the other side of the fence next to his brother Chip. The horses couldn't have cared less about Ernie or his business, they were only concerned about the menu. Once they saw that dinner wasn't being served in this corral they began to retreat back to the north side of the barn. Wasting no time, Chip dove under the fence and immediately began covering Ernie's abandoned turd. I stood in amazement over this gesture not sure what to make of it. Are these three little guys a band of brothers? It seems so.

Ever since they were born I've thought about how most litters of cats and dogs are split up once they are weaned. The more I get to know these little ones and see the nurturing relationship they have with Puff and each other I can't imagine sending the boys off and leaving Puff behind. I'm sure it hasn't crossed Puff's mind either.

Several weeks ago, when they received their first shots, the vet asked if we were thinking about having Puff spayed. I said we were. He recommended having the surgery soon after the kittens weaned. Her surgery was planned for tomorrow. I say, "was" because I cancelled it on Monday morning. I realized that I couldn't send Puff to the vet for a day and leave the kittens behind. I'm not sure what she would do, but I know that being separated would cause great emotional distress for all concerned. Also, the prospect of having Puff recovering from surgery while managing very busy kittens would not best serve her. Puff's attachment and devotion to her kittens does not make her unusual, but what I think is unusual is how many of us casually sell or give away kittens and puppies, whether for profit or convenience with little or no regard for the emotional consequences.

Puff deserves the company and companionship of her three sons for as long as nature allows. If the day comes when one or more decides to take a walkabout, we all will grieve as much as we need for as long as we need, but we will also have our wonderful memories of a life as it was meant to be. And so it is.

Oh yeah, the storm. I made it into the house just in time to find Luna cowering next to the toilet and Cali waiting by the door ready for her evening walk--come hell or high water.