Saturday, February 5, 2011

Are you destined to have her?

Jasper is more curious than jealous at this stage
Yesterday, despite pouring rain, a friend and I took a break and went to San Fernando on the water taxi.As you may know, the San Fernando wharf is densely populated with stray cats. On the way back to the water taxi after our San F'do excursion, we noticed two very young kittens dead in a puddle. They had probably been washed down from wherever they were by the heavy rain. Next to them was another kitten, its head smashed in. Then my friend noticed another kitten, eyes not yet open, bravely dragging her way through wet bush and mud on the other side of the locked gate before us.

Luckily she was moving in our direction. I stretched my arm through the bars, pinched the skin on her neck and lifted her. She was covered in muddy water. We took her to the bathroom, wiped her off, wrapped her in toilet paper and put her in a plastic sieve purchased for the purpose of sprouting beans. (Hence the reason I named her Sprout). We smuggled her onto the boat, safely nestled in her new receptacle.

She is a survivor and it is her destiny to be elevated beyond the life into which she was born.
 Using a syringe, I have been feeding her Enfamil Premium Infant 1 Formula (for babies 0 - 12 months old). She drinks it in small doses, scrambles around a bit, then sleeps, wrapped in my homemade "Vote for Kamla/make Herstory" t-shirt and either on my lap or in a gift box. Last night was somewhat sleepless, as I had to wake every hour or so to feed her and make sure she was warm.
Sprout attached to my body for yoga

At this age, when she would normally be accustomed to the warmth of her mother and siblings, it's good to hold her as much as possible for body heat. When I woke to do yoga, I strapped her against my body using a piece of turban cloth. Together we tuned in, but it was difficult to do warm ups and a kriya without waking her—so I did a quiet Sat Kriya and closed with some chanting so she could get the vibrations.
Praying mantis sitting on base of lamp after sadhana
 Afterward, I realised that the insect that had been flying around us in the lamplight during chanting was a Praying Mantis. It felt very fitting and sacred. I thought: "Whoever adopts Sprout will have a special yogic kitten."
Sprout feeling totally relaxed after yoga
This morning I will take Sprout to Vinmer Vet clinic, where there is a mother cat with two nursing kittens.  Once the mother cat accepts her and allows her to suckle, I will leave her there to be nourished properly and bond with her own species.

One day soon she will be ready to be adopted. As Jasper is a strictly one-woman cat, I won't keep her, but I know that the perfect owner is out there . . . maybe even reading this . . . maybe even you.

1 comment:

Lynn Cohen said...

You are precious, she is precious, what an adorable touching story, praying manthis and all. thanks for sharing. I hope she finds a home when she is ready and bless you for recuing her so she can enjoy life and give someone else joy as well.

Henry sends his love.