Am I Cruel?
I'm mean, of course; mean goes without saying. But cruel? Maybe.Cyn has a brand-new kitten. So does Lisa, though I can't permalink to hers because her template's busted. (The kitten probably broke it. Or the opossum.)
Emma wants a kitten. She wants one so badly it hurts. She collects cats of the inanimate variety. (I'll have to post a photo montage sometime.) She's wanted a kitten her whole life, and nothing in this world would make her happier than a kitten. Except perhaps a pug, but let's not go there.
Did I mention that we have two cats?
Kristi and I each had a cat when we got married. Rambis (top) is 15 now, and Isabella (bottom) will be 13 soon. While Izzy is in fine health, Ram isn't; she has chronic renal insufficiency (kidney failure), and is on a special low-protein diet. In addition to the kidney problem, one of Ram's front legs is somewhat crippled now; a torn tendon, apparently. She limps, sometimes badly. We have to improvise steps for her to get on and off the bed.
According to the vet, it's not a problem for Izzy to eat Ram's prescription food (besides, she gets plenty of regular senior cat food put in places Ram can't reach) -- but Ram's prescription food would be terrible for a kitten, nutrition-wise. In short, there's no place we could put Ram's food where she could reach it and a kitten couldn't.
So, until Rambis leaves us, no kitten for Emma. She understands the reason, which relieves me of some of the guilt, but it doesn't stop her from wanting, which in turn makes me feel, well, cruel.
Besides, a kitten would be fun. I admit it.
On the other hand, Kristi and I have long had an agreement regarding any new feline brought into our house. We've seen enough furnishings destroyed (or, in the case of the beautiful William Morris-design rug we bought and never used because Izzy started pulling out tufts, threatened). But neither of us will pay to have a cat declawed ourselves; it's a cruel surgery. So the agreement: we'd only adopt a cat that was already declawed by a previous owner. And normally declawing isn't done until a cat reaches six months of age, so that precludes a cute wittle fuzzball.
Life is complicated. Why doesn't somebody just breed kittens without front claws that don't require protein? I'd pay extra for one.
posted by MeanMrMustard @ 7:31 AM
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