Three cats are enough

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

 People often ask me why I’m still working past normal retirement age.

 My standard response is that I need the money for beer, gas and cat food – and we have three cats.

 So this begs the question: Why three cats?

 Several years ago we adopted a neutered shelter cat named Stanley. He was well-behaved, got along with the neighbors’ kids and other cats and showed no signs of leaving home for good. One day, however, he went out for his morning stroll and never came back.

 So after several months of being “catless,” we decided to adopt another one.

 Basil was advertised in Uncle Henry’s as a neutered male who desperately needed a new home. He was one of several animals in the family, but closest to a teenage girl who was leaving for college. The parents didn’t want to keep him, however, and suggested that if she didn’t find him a new home, they would take him to a shelter.

 The wife and daughter disliked the potential of a two-year-old cat from a family home being hauled off to a shelter to spend months or years confined to a cage.

 So we brought Basil home about six years ago. He’s a pretty mellow guy who has turned into the “office cat,” often napping on a table about two feet away from my PC.

 About three years ago, a scraggly black cat started showing up in the yard. She appeared to be a runaway or abandoned, judging by her skittish nature.

 Eventually, she eased into the house a few times and then unexpectedly jumped on my lap one afternoon.

“Guess what,” I told my wife. “She’s getting a little chubby.”

 “You’re kidding. She’s too young!”

 “You’d think so, but she’s an expectant mommy,” I said.

 Three or four weeks later, Mittens gave birth in our spare bedroom on a pile of old blankets, specifically set up as a temporary nursery. Two kittens were stillborn, but the other two turned into bundles of joy and mayhem.

 A minor debate ensued about which of the survivors to keep. The wife wanted the female while I preferred the male, mostly because I figured he’d bond better with Basil.

So we kept Buster and found a nice home for his sister.

 Once Mittens stopped nursing, she made her first trip to the vet. The doctor determined that she was only seven or eight months old, which was probably the reason two out of four kittens didn’t survive.

 But her baby-making days are over now. After she was sterilized, Buster was next on the list after his six-month birthday.

 So that’s our three-cat story. Three are enough and they won’t reproduce.

 Sadly, there are families who aren’t willing or able to spay or neuter their pets. That’s why our shelters are full, especially this time of year.

 We don’t know anything about Mittens’ background, but she was clearly not ready for motherhood.

 But she’s ours now and we’re thankful. So are her son and his “stepfather.”

Mike Lange is a staff writer with the Piscataquis Observer. His opinions are his own and don’t necessarily reflect those of this newspaper.