To err is human, to purr is feline.

While we were visiting the U.S., our good friend Jill was kind enough to let us stay at her place for about a week. I guess it is probably more accurate to say that Jill's two cats, Squints and Berkley, let us stay at their house. We enjoyed their company so much that when we returned to India, we decided to look into getting a couple of kitties of our own. We guessed that cats would be the most appropriate pets for our lifestyle as we are not home during the day and as cats are far less needy than dogs (and since neither Eric nor I really care that much for dogs) it was an easy decision. Also since I managed to kill the last pet I had (the virtual pet, Seaman, who hated me so much because of my lack of attention to him that he constantly insulted me before finally going belly up, literally), I figured that the lower maintence, the better.



I guessed that the appropriate place to try to get a kitten would be an animal shelter. As luck would have it, my bus stop is directly in front of a veterinary hospital and I assumed that they would also have a shelter, or at least be able to tell us where one is. So two Saturdays ago Eric and I made our way to the hospital and were instructed that the shelter was directly behind the hospital. I have never actually been to an animal shelter in the US, but I have seen them on TV in documentaries and other shows so I thought that I had an idea of what to expect. I was wrong. The animal shelter seemed to be in two or three buildings, all clustered together. It was not difficult to figure out where the dogs were as you could hear constant barking coming from two of the buildings. I am no animal expert, but I am pretty sure that so much barking must be extremely damaging to the dogs as their stress level must be through the roof. The cats and other miscellaneous animals were kept in another building. "What do you mean by miscellaneous animals, what other types of animals are kept at a shelter, guinea pigs and hamsters perhaps?" Yeah right, more like chickens, ducks, goats, horses and cows. That's right, looking for something to keep you warm at night, how about a cow? Just go to your local animal shelter and pick one up! Okay, back to the shelter... The animals were actually kept outside, with little or no protection from the elements in metal cages with dirt floors. We spent the whole time near the cat cage, where all of the cats were kept together in one large cage. It is difficult for me to describe the smell; it was as though every cat on the earth was lined up to take a turn in a fairly large litter box. It was so strong that you daren't take a deep breath and nose breathing was kept to a minimum. And in this filthy, smelling hellhole were kept around fifteen cats, from adults to a litter of newborns, some clearly diseased and all starving. They were fed, but their food consisted of bread soaked in milk. First of all, giving cow's milk to cats is not a great idea; it can often make them sick and almost always give then diarrhea. Secondly, cats are strict CARNIVORES. I dig that most Indians are vegetarians, but come on, give me a break, give the cats some damn meat. Unlike dogs, who are omnivores, cats can not make many of the essential vitamins and amino acids required for survival and have to obtain these from the meat that they eat. So every one of the cats were for all intensive purposes, starved. There was no litter box, the cats just did their business wherever and had nowhere comfortable to rest, either in the filth on the floor, or on wire racks within the cage. Not surprisingly, some of the cats had gone rather mad and would run wildly through the cage, others would hiss at you if approached, and others were limp and completely weak. It was miserable and utterly heartbreaking.





We had initially planned to check the place out and then bring home one kitten the next weekend, but after seeing how horrible the shelter was we decided to rescue two, and we just couldn't leave them there for a whole additional week. We told the people at the shelter that we would be back the next day to get our kittens, we couldn't take them immediately because we didn't have a single thing for them, no food, no litter or litter box, no basket for bringing them home, nothing. So we immediately stopped at the first pet shop that we could find. Now I should mention at this point that having a pet is a fairly new concept in India and the pet culture is completely different than in the US. For instance, we stopped by the vet hospital after leaving the shelter to inquire about spaying and/or neutering. The vet sort of looked at us strangely and asked, "You mean that you want to have your cat sterilized?" Uh, yeah. I mean seriously, has this guy never heard of Bob Barker or seen the Price is Right? Animal population control is not a priority here, and street dogs are constantly reproducing, I actually don't think that I have ever seen a female dog on the street that isn't either pregnant or nursing. I guess that it shouldn't be a surprise that animal population control isn't an issue here as there isn't any more thought given to human population control. Anyway, as I was saying, pets are a new thing here, and apparently the only pet to have is a dog. So the pet shop was loaded with all types of dog food, dog treats, dog toys, but almost nothing for cats. We were able to find some kitten food which we bought, but when I inquired about kitty litter and a litter box I again got a strange look. No kitty litter, but they would happily build me a wooden litter box. Right, a WOOD box would be perfect to absorb all the little kitty piddle. My god. Anyway, we tried three other pet shops and still no litter. So, in a panic, I called my friend who has a friend who has a cat and asked where she gets litter. She directed me to a shop quite a distance away and since it was getting late we decided to go the next day to get the litter. In the meantime we went to the local shop that sells all sorts of stuff and found a plastic tub to use as a litter box and a plastic basket to carry the kittens home in. So the next day we went to try to find this pet shop for the litter, and after walking up and down the same street for about 25 minutes Eric finally spotted it. We went in and found kitty litter, but no pooper-scooper, no toys, and only one kind of treat (vegetarian by the way). But at least we got the litter. That same afternoon, we went back to the shelter and picked out two tiny and skinny four-week old sisters (the mother and any other siblings were not there) and brought them home. Since then our days have been a whirlwind of kittens and poo and piddle. Luckily, they warmed up to us very quickly, the first night we had them home they were already crawling on us. They are doing pretty well with litter, especially considering that they had never used it before since there wasn't any at the shelter. They are putting on some weight, the food was the very first thing that they found when they came home with us and I look forward to the time when they are tubby kittens instead of skinny ones. I am quite embarrassed to say that our kittens don't yet have names, even after one week. Right now we are considering some Indian names (duh) and some Greek names (inspired by God of War II, the video game that Eric is playing currently). Hopefully we will make a decision soon and post some pics of the newest additions!