As Salaam Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,
About a week ago my wife and I decided that the kittens were old enough to be placed in new homes. So we started spreading the word among friends and family, hoping someone would want one. No one did.
Then we put a sign on our window announcing the availability of kittens. Within a day, Sugar Plum had a nice new home. I was very optimistic that we would be able to find homes for the other two just as quickly but it wasn’t meant to be easy.
I had been letting the kittens outside with their mother for a number of hours each afternoon for their benefit and my sanity. Plus I was trying to let Dhuha have a bit more freedom in the house. Ever since the kittens were born I’ve had to restrict her from one room because she tried to play with them whenever they were near but her idea of playing was grabbing them by the neck or tail and or lying on top of them. I was worried that she was going to kill one of them.
One afternoon as usual I let them all out and then took my wife out to visit her parents. When I came back home after a few hours, I went to check on them but found they were gone. Not only them but their food bowl was gone as well. Someone stole cats I was trying to give away for free. I began to worry about them so much because, I felt a huge obligation for their well-being.
Just as I realised they were gone, a nice family with three nice little children knocked on my door asking about the kittens. I had to tell them they were gone. It was such a shame because that family was the exact type of people I was looking to give the cats to. It wasn’t meant to be.
Later some boys who live in an apartment building across the street knock on the door. They told me they found the cats in the alley, which seemed strange to me because it wasn’t possible for them to get out on their own. They asked if they could keep the kittens and assured me that it was OK with their parents. Fine.
Sabah was so upset that the kittens were gone. She made duaa and asked Allah to bring them home.
Later that night the boys brought the kittens back and asked me if I could keep them just for the night until the could get enough money to buy all the different things that they needed. No problem. They gave the kittens back to me in a box and they left promising to return the next day.
When I took the kittens in the house they looked exhausted and the normally active and happy kittens just lied there and I noticed a strange mark on Meatball’s stomach. Those kids must not have let them have a moments rest. When I looked into the box they had given me, I noticed my bowl. I knew then that these kids came into my yard and stole the cats and the bowl and then stupidly brought the evidence back.
I was very upset that night and I found it very difficult to sleep. I resolved to yell at those boys and not to give them the kittens and that’s exactly what I did the next morning when they came to take the kittens back.
After that there were quite a few kids and teens who came by asking for a kitten. I turned them all away telling them to bring their parents along. We also changed the sign in the window, specifically mentioning that we would only give the kittens to families.
I watched from the window those boys who stole the kittens ask every adult on the street to come to my house and ask for a cat. I rejected everyone and finally they gave up.
A day or two later some very nice people came by and asked about the kittens and both Meatball and Super Mario had a home, or so I thought. The family that took Super Mario learned that their youngest was allergic to cats and so they brought her back but said that it was likely that someone they knew would want the cat.
The next day, sure enough someone came by and took Super Mario away. Sabah said, ‘Super Mario is my favourite’ and she started to cry.
I love cats and Chutney’s three kittens were really good cats but I sure am glad they’re gone. It was a stressful week.
Tomorrow, I’ll try to post up some pictures that I took of Chutney, Sugar Plum, Meatball and Super Mario about a week before they left.
