I am an animal lover through and through. Taking in this abandoned kitten was inevitable from the moment I ripped open the box in which she’d been dumped at the shelter. I was going to foster her, socialize her so she could easy go into a loving home. There was no question.

Yes. My intention was to foster the last three kittens I took home from the shelter, and now, more than a year later, they are as much a part of my family as I am. It was no wonder, then, that everyone I spoke to about fostering this one laughed at me.

“It’s true,” I said. “I’m not keeping her, I’m just fostering her.”

“Uh-huh” was the standard chuckling reply.

In truth, I have considered keeping her. But that would mean FIVE cats in my house. One for each room. 😀

Uh… no.

Put aside the fact that she fits inside every nook and cranny there is in my little house. Forget the fact we keep repeating one line all day and night, “Where’s the baby?” Forget the messy kitten coolie and baby-fine talons… um… nails… that slice through skin like a hot knife through butta (hey, I’m a New Yorker). Forget the endless heart-wrenching cries at 4am when baby is hungry… and forget the hissing and attitudes of the ‘elder’ cats in the house.

Forget all that because this kitten is precious. And yes, she’s already cozied up into my heart.

But I can’t keep her. I have four already and we have a neat little routine going. Besides, she’s here for one reason – to be taught what it means to be part of a family so that she can be part of one herself. And guess what? She has a home. Sight-unseen, someone has eagerly agreed to take her and so, come Monday, I’ll say goodbye to my fragile little calico and know, somewhere in my sad little heart, that she’ll be happy and very well cared for.

I’ll also know that I was the one lucky enough to receive her first ever head-butt. And I taught her to feel safe enough to love.