When I was little I was afraid of cats. My Grandma Isabelle had kittens that would sit under the stove in the kitchen and paw at our feet as we ran by. Their little claws hurt and scratched our toes. I was not a fan.
I didn’t think they were cute or cuddly, I thought they were mean. The mama kitty was the worst. She would hiss and bite. I remember waking up during the night while on a sleepover at Grandma’s and here was mama kitty sitting on my bed. I screamed and cried until Grandma came in a pushed the cat off the bed. was terrified.
It wasn’t until I was older my mom brought home a kitten we named Pinky. He was an outdoor cat that we fed at the kitchen window. Pinky was banished from the house when he killed our pet chicken that we’d hatched under a light bulb. I don’t remember liking Pinky that much either. He was a cat who killed mice and birds, not really a pet. I guess I have been more of a dog person.
That all changed about four weeks ago. Three neighbors found cats at their homes all on the same day. I agreed to take one in until a home could be found. Pretty soon it was clear that all three cats were pregnant and that is probably why they were dropped off.
Each gave birth to four kittens. Suddenly three cats turned into 19 cats! Do the math on that. If half of these cats are female and nine of them give birth in four months to four kittens each, we now have an additional 36 to the 19… that’s 55 cats! I just don’t understand the dumping of pets and the irresponsibility of people. All pets must be spayed and neutered. Don’t just get a male cat and think you’re off the hook. A mama needs a daddy to make kittens. He’s part of the problem too.
It’s not just me; a neighbor went on vacation and came home to three new cats in her yard. Two of them are also pregnant. Talk about moving in!
Okay, I will admit these baby kittens are adorable and the mama kitty is the nicest cat I have ever met. I am glad to have this experience of helping to safely make sure these cats have good homes with responsible pet owners but I have to say I am sad for those cats who never had a chance. Please do the right thing if you decide to have a pet….keep the cat population low. We already have too many kitties.
Here’s a riddle to prove my point: There are seven girls on the school bus. Each girl has seven backpacks. In each backpack, there are seven mama cats. For every mama cat there are seven kittens. How many legs are on the bus? The answer is at the bottom of the recipes.
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
The answer to the riddle is:
There are 10,990 legs on the bus.
That’s a lot of legs and a lot of cats!
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