I'm doing my first rescue!

[Samantha Puppy]

About 90 minutes ago, I took on my first rescue. Two neighborhood boys found a stray kitty they thought might be mine. I guestimate the little boy to be about 6-7 months old, DSH tortoiseshell (gray, light orange and white), VERY sweet, VERY cuddly, and VERY hungry. I gave him a can (whole can) of kitty food and he chowed it down in no time flat. My mom's next-door neighbor actually does animal rescue (she is how I got Samantha) and actually just lost a kitty in November and will be losing another one any day now, so I called her to see if she'd be interested in helping this one out. She is, but she can't come get him 'til tomorrow morning. I sort of wish she could get him tonight because I'm already adoring him but tomorrow is okay. I hope she keeps him.

I've dubbed him Wasabe (in keeping with the Japanese food theme for my kitty boys - Kirin (a beer) and Sushi). I'll try to get some pictures of him tonight and tomorrow before Martha comes to get him.

I don't think I could do this regularly, but I feel really good!

[orangemm]

Aw, I'm glad you'll have 'company' tonight! Thank you for taking this little one in and off the streets.

[Laura's Babies]

Fostering 101...... It is ACCEPTABLE to fail it!

That is why I don't like fostering, I fall in love fast and HARD and cry for days when they are gone....

[catmandu]

We cant wait to see Photos of that Little Rescue.
Bless you for making such a difference in his Life.
Theres a Gold Star going up by your name Tonight.

[kimlovescats]

Congratulations! If it is a tortoiseshell ... are you SURE it's a boy? They are usually always female!

[Samantha Puppy]

I would love to 'fail' at it, but that would make 1 dog, 5 cats and a new baby. I don't think I can get my husband to buy into this one. The only thing that's keeping me from boo-hooing at the thought of giving him to my parents' neighbor is that I'll be able to see him whenever I want.

As for whether or not it's a tortoiseshell... I don't know! Maybe not. I definitely think I see some neutred balls back there, so I'm about 90% sure it's a boy, but hey - maybe I'm wrong. At any rate, here are some pictures of my little foster, Wasabe.

[Felix]

Oh hes adorable. I see why you are fastly attaching

[k9krazee]

He is soooo handsome!!!!!

[Craftlady]

What a sweetheart. Sad someone took time to have him fixed but let him roam.
He looks in great shape.

[QueenScoopalot]

Adorable...concatulations....but she's all girl I'm willing to bet! "Round these heya parts, we callem' "red-patch tabbies", and others may call her a dilute tortie....but the pics scream I'M A GIRL!!!

[kuhio98]

I definitely think I see some neutred balls back there, so I'm about 90% sure it's a boy, but hey - maybe I'm wrong. At any rate, here are some pictures of my little foster, Wasabe.

I can't really tell from the face if Wasabe is a boy or a girl. Halo doesn't like to talk about it, but she also appears to have some neutered balls. We try not to mention it too often, but she does look "boyish" from behind.

[Catty1]

I love the gold colour of her/his eyes! Beautiful little cat.

Since you'll be able to keep track, please keep us updated!

[krazyaboutkatz]

He or she is adorable. I'm glad that you were able to take her in temporarily and hopefully your mom's rescue neighbor will end up adopting her or him. My guess is that the kitten is a little girl.

[catnapper]

LOL... love the conversation thus far! The photos definately scream girlie gril. She (or possibly he) is a lovely dilute tortie (Hey Jen, I'd never herad the term Red-Patch Tabbies before..... does that mean I need to collect one of them too? ) I think I read that male torties are like one a couple million. He'd be pretty special if he were a he!

Congrats on your first rescue. Better watch out, its addictive!

[Samantha Puppy]

This is why I love my husband so much. Last night, he allowed Wasabe to sit on his lap and pet him a couple times, but I knew he was keeping his distance so he didn't become attached. I wrote him this morning to let him know how much I appreciated him "allowing" me to have this strange kitty stay in our house. My e-mail to him:

"I just wanted to thank you again for not being a jerk with the whole Wasabe thing. To be honest, if you had no problem keeping him he'd be ours in a heartbeat but I do understand that we can't at this point in time. I just really appreciate you being willing to go along with this, knowing how I feel about animals. I will hate to see him go, but as long as Martha and Bill keep him I know I'll be able to see him basically whenever I want. Anyway, thanks again for not throwing him out last night. You're a good man."

And here is his response. The 5th sentence made my jaw drop and if possible, made me love him even more.

"He must have slept on my chair all night. When I went in my office to get a
piece of paper he wouldn't leave me alone. I wish we could keep him too, but
we just can't have five cats. The house is barely big enough for four. If
Bill & Martha don't want him, then maybe, but I doubt it. We can't afford to
take him to the vet right now, and that needs to happen before he would become a permanent resident, nor can we afford the extra food or litter."

It sounds pretty negative, but you have no idea how BIG it is for him to have said "If Bill & Martha don't want him, then maybe..."

I doubt it'll come to that. Like I said, they lost a kitty in November and are set to lose another one any day now so it's not like they'd have more than they know what to do with. I have a feeling they'll be able to keep him, but after Josh said what he did in his e-mail, I felt confident enough to tell him that if they couldn't or wouldn't keep him, I'd like to take him back in - even just "temporarily" () - while we work on another option for him/her. Martha does a lot of rescue work, but it's on her own. For animals she can't keep, she usually ends up taking them to the shelter. I can't have that, they don't screen adopters nearly well enough, so even if we can't keep him/her permanently I can at least look into actual rescue organizations around here.

Anyway, just thought I'd update you all. I don't know whether to pray things work out and Bill and Martha keep him or if I want him! He's such a sweetie. I guess, just pray for whatever would be best for this little sweetheart.