July 13, 2009

Cat lovers, help!

To all you cat (and generally pet) lovers, please send me some moral support. I am mentally exhausted and my head is a mess. I know it'll be better after a good (????) night's sleep, but at this very moment, I feel a big whirlwind in my head.
It's late and I am very tired, so I'll make the story short.
We drove north of Oslo to something somewhere [...]. We decided to return using a longer road east to the border with Sweden and back home, so I could see the nature there. Then we decided to cross the border to see what it looks like in Sweden in this very part where we where (total boonies). Beautiful nature. Small villages (actually a fragment of the size of what one would call a village), we had waffles with coffee, just wonderful. Just houses and farms deep in the forests and fields. We were about to cross the border from Sweden back to Norway and we stop because I wanted to make a picture of the double border sign (see below). Mistake, big mistake. When we stopped, we went out of the car to see the weird structures you can see on the photos. It's an association who makes a point to mark the way (a group of? - need to read more about it) Norwegians escaped from Oslo through the wild woods all the way into Sweden. And then it happened.
Two little cats went out of the woods, so very friendly to us, making small sounds, climbing out jeans, rolling in the grass, playing. Weird place, me things. {..shortcut..}
H. starts the car and I start talking about rescuing them. {..shortcut..}
H. argues we can't do that, they must belong to someone, what would I say if etc. etc. {..shortcut..}
We try to find ANY house around. No house. Just woods.
We return. Cats still there.
We drive again home. H. pi----d off, me almost hysterical. I make him stop at the only cabin near the lake we can see. We climb over the chain barring the road, down to the cabin. No people and to me it is sure they haven't been there this summer {..shortcut..}
So the cats aren't from there. Most probably, someone dumped the cats there so they either survive or someone finds them. I really don't know what was in the heads of these people. I don't want to find out. And I don't want to meet them.
We drive back again to the cats.
Some Polish (funny!) bikers had stopped there and said some Swedish car had stopped also a moment before, so weird it looked, these small tiny cats in the wilderness.
It starts raining *heavily*. Before we make the few steps between the car and the cats, we are soaked. The kittens are half-hidden in a bush, scared, crying.... My heart cries out loud too, we grab the kittens,place them on my knees and drive.
Now, the next 2 hours home were a nightmare. Not because of the cats. They slept, purred, climbed on me, licked me, they are the most wonderful little creatures I've ever seen. And obviously very dependent on each other.
But H. is super angry. He won't keep the cats. And I will return to Poland in September with my cat and my dog. He doesn't want the responsability. He has noone to take care of them when he travels for work. On both sides of the house, his uncle and mother hate cats. He works long hours. Etc. etc.
And then the major argument, he doesn't want a zoo at home. Three cats and a dog is a little much.
He is very angry at me because I try to convince him to keep them and find all the answers about how possible that is {..shortcut..}
We're home since 2 hours. No problem between the kittens and Happy the dog. They raise all hair but nothing happens. They even ate from the same bowl. No problem, I think.
Now, Toska. My devil cat Toska, who absolutely hates all other cats. Doesn't tolerate them. Chases them. Scares the ---- out of them. Makes a hell on Earth to them. Well, amazing, amazing surprise. She smelled one and backed off. She keeps a distance. Is unhappy, it seems, but no agressivity on her side. Well, I had checked they are both males, that's why I allowed myself to take them at all. Not sure how it would be, but it is not a real problem this evening.
Well, it's H. or the cats. That's the way it is now. He wants to find them a *good* home, I don't want that. Also, they need to stay together.
Please send some good vibes tonight. Till tomorrow for a new report.
But, aren't they crazy cute????
Also, anyone experienced with cats, how old can they be? My aunt said 2-3 months. What do YOU say?




18 comments:

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

I don't own cats but I do have two dogs. I HATE that people just dump animals of any kind - what's
WRONG with people? I hope however things work out that you'll know you did the right thing by rescuing the little kitties. If you can't keep them, hopefully you CAN find them a good home. Sending good thoughts your way!!!

Elizabeth MacGregor said...

Oh, Anna! You must convince H. to let you keep them!!! They are beautiful! So Adorable and precious and I think it was Fate that led you to them... :) They already seem to be a part of your family and I know they love you and you love them! I do pray H. will let you keep them... And I'm sending lots of good thoughts and vibes your way!!! :)

Oh, and they look to be at least 4 months old to me... maybe a wee bit older.

Sending lots of {{{Hugs}}} and Blessings your way! And give the wee furbabes a cuddle from me! :)

Barb said...

What a terrible dilemma. The last time I brought a kitten home (a total surprise for everyone including me), DH got kind of angry but he got used to the idea. This cat is so lovable.

Can you take them back to Poland with you? I hope it works out for you. It's not easy to have to make these choices, especially since this was not something you had planned on.

Koala said...

They are gorgeous, two of them!!! What a difficult problem you have, Anna :-( My heart is with you. Is there any animal shelters around? RSPCA? They usually can help to find a new home for cats and dogs.. Anyway, take care and thank you for your kindness from an Australian cats lover :-)
P.S. the kittens look like they are about 4-6 months..

Melissa said...

Oh, Anna, what a dilemma. You did a good thing rescuing them. Just look at their eyes in the photos!

I can see both points of view. We have 2 cats. But I can see H's concern with having the responsibilities etc. I hope you are a 'conduit' for finding a good home for the kitties. Will send lots of good thoughts your way!

mainely stitching said...

I don't think you can force pets animals/pets on people who don't want them and more than you can force children on people who don't want them. I'm sorry to be the dissenting voice. I love animals, and would no doubt have an even bigger zoo than we currently have if Niek would give in when I've asked if we couldn't have this or that animal.

As for rescuing the kittens, I do agree that you "had" to do it. But keeping them? Making it a choice between two adorable kittens (who could probably be placed pretty easily with another loving caregiver) and H.? Is that really what you want to do? Either-or choices like that, in my experience, never have a happy ending. :(

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you happiness! ((((hugs)))) to you in your time of difficult decision-making.

mainely stitching said...

(That first sentence should read 'any' more rather than 'and' more. Typos!)

Sheila said...

I have two cats and would probably have done the same as you under the circumstances. But if you know your DH will never accept them, please try and find a local cat sanctuary who will look after the cats until they can be found a good home (together) - and they are so cute looking, hopefully it won´t be long.
I too think they are about 4-6 months.
I hope whatever you choose to do, it works out well...and if you have to give them to a Cat´s Home - you know they will have a better life than they would have done had you not rescued them from the woods! :)

karenv said...

I agree with Barbara - are the cats really worth sacrificing your relationship with H? They are certainly adorable and I don't think they will have any trouble being adopted by a caring family.

DH and I had a similar conversation at the weekend when we unintentionally ended up at a cat rehoming event and I fell in love with a(nother) black cat. I wanted to adopt her but he doesn't want any more until we move to a bigger house. I accepted that, even though I wasn't happy about it, because I knew he wasn't 100% behind the idea. Good luck and I hope you can both sort this out for the best.

Jennifer said...

Anna, I had nearly the exact situation happen to me last November. I found three kittens by the road side and H. said "No More!" because we already had 5 cats. My Alix was very old and I thought these kittens would distrupt the final months of her life. It was complete torture. I brought them to my Vet who put them up for adoption. But I knew from the moment I touched them that they were MY CATS! No other home would be good enough. I prayed at night that they would be adopted so I could be out of this turmoil. Then one was adopted and I was so sad. Luckily this cat went to the local dollshouse shop lady who loves animals. Then after the 60 day limit expired at the Vet I had to make a choice...to put the cats at the animal shelter, a pet store, or take them home with me. Of course there was no other choice in my mind. These little cats have been the joy of my life and Alix accepted them and enjoyed their antics for the final months of her life. I do believe they kept her young a bit longer. I too felt badly that they were seperated from their sister, but now I have these two and everyone gets along fine.
I can not give advice about the relationship to this and your husband. A horrible choice to have to make. I too feel this way about animals in relation to people. People can always make a choice and adapt....animals are stuck with what we give to them and do not have much of a choice. Please e-mail me if you want to chat about this more (jsutherland1@earthlink.net) Already I am taking up so much space here!

Cindy said...

They are so cute! Hopefully H. will find a soft spot in his heart for them :) If not, hopefully you can find a place where they can be together.

DaisyGirl said...

Anna, the same stuff happens over here too. I believe any person who abandons any type of animal deserves to be shot. I am very vocal about that. Johnny's the same way as H. I have 3 kitties myself and John said the only way to get another one is one of them has to go away. (Get my drift.)
I know that it's hard, maybe a local vet might could take them, they look older to me. They are such sweet kitties though. Good luck girl, you are gonna need it.
Hugs,
Donna

Le Lapichat Brodeur et ses amies said...

they are lovely :-) I think these kittens are about 4 or 5 months old. As for your dilemna...keep H and Tosca in the basement and you and the kittens in the house ? just kidding :-) maybe after a few weeks, H won't let you give the kittens away...wait and see, I hope you'll find the best solution. A big hug from France ! Julie

nath1306 said...

coucou anna,

je m'inquiète, as tu reçu mes mails et mon paquet ??? Je n'ai aucune nouvelle

bises
nath1306

LindaMc said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
LindaMc said...

What beautiful kittens. I've sent an email.

Joanie said...

Oh Anna, they are beautiful! We had a very similar situation with our latest, Olivia, someone dumped her on a gas line and our friend found her. We took her in. She's a sweetie! I am sending you good thoughts so that H's heart softens. And they look to be about 6 months old.

Unknown said...

So, what happened with the kittens?
(waiting to hear the next part of the story)