On Jul 23, 6:01 pm, "MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER
wrote:

MaryL, I'm sad to see that you've had unflattering thoughts of me. Do
you think I'm bypassing the undernourished kitty for a "more perfect"
companion? I thought I kind of indicated in my second post that I had
connected with a few other kitties but my nurturing nature had drawn
me to the skinny girl over the others. Maybe that wasn't perfectly
clear, but otherwise I wouldn't have made my original post.

FirstHit

Yes, that was my reaction to your original post, but I was disturbed by your
next post when you began to talk only about visiting and the possibility of
others adopting, etc. A cat that has problems usually never gets adopted
and many (perhaps most) are euthanized. "Visiting" simply does not overcome
those problems. My Duffy is an example of cats that remain in the shelter
for months--a perfectly wonderful little cat but bypassed for several months
because he is blind. Actually, he was fortunate because the people in that
shelter clearly wanted to find a home for him, so they kept him far longer
than usual. And then I became the lucky person who got to adopt him. I
*hope* I overreacted, and in that case, I will apologize. That is, I hope
you will not decide to move on to "healthier" cats and leave the emaciated
cat behind.

MaryL

MaryL,

I looked at Duffy's pictures, and he looks great! I am glad that you
and Duffy found each other and are making each other happy!

I did talk about others adopting, but I know others might not take
her. She is definitely more on my radar screen than the "perfect"
kitties I connected with. I'm not taking the attitude that I don't
need to be concerned about her because others will worry about her.

I agree that visiting is no substitute for taking a kitty home. But
at the moment, visiting and voicing concerns to the people at the
shelter is the best I can do. My visits with her last about 45
minutes. Friday I learned that she has other visitors, and between
the lot of us I think it does do her some good emotionally because she
has company and must see that she is valued.

You may be wondering why I have been looking in the shelters at a time
when there are obstacles to bringing a new cat home. Near the end of
May, I had to make the decision to put my cat to sleep. She had
kidney disease and was my angel for 16.5 years. Her death has been a
real blow to me. By the beginning of July, I started wanting to open
my heart to another cat. I began looking in the shelters to get an
idea of what the cats there were like and also just to get some feline
love. Soon I connected with a couple of healthy cats and then met the
skinny kitty.

The shelter is giving her some special attention to fatten her up. (I
know this is not like being in a home.) I have seen some progress in
her mood and playfulness, but I can't tell with my eye if she's
gaining weight. They have no intention of euthanizing her and haven't
euthanized a cat in a long time.

FirstHit