Havana, being the cat whisper that she is, had asked Don and I, for a very long time, could we please foster kittens. I was initially resistant. I knew that I would end up taking care of them. But she persisted. It went on for at least a year. She wanted to have kittens to take care of, to nurture and play with. Finally, and in part due to the pandemic and it's impact on social outlets and mental health, I relented. Through some friends, we found a local rescue foundation and in the beginning of April 2022, we fostered a feral mama cat and her 5 kittens.
Kittens are adorable. They are also alot of work. And, we had a runt that was barely 5 ounces that we were told may not make it. He would have to be fed every 2-3 hour throughout the day. It would be like having a baby again. Havana had no idea the commitment she had taken on and neither did the rest of us. But she is a kid and so it was quickly passed to me, this serious responsibility. And then there were the 3 others healthy kitties and a fourth who was a bit underweight but not as severely as the runt.
I am not sure if it was that grim prognosis, given with such finality that triggered my stubbornness to prove it wrong, but I set my heart to making sure this little guy got fed like clockwork. The girls names most of the other kittens but I named him; Rio. He just felt like a Rio. And it was not long before I'd come into their room (they were housed in the back in-law unit), and as soon as Rio would hear by voice, he'd drag his teeny self out of the kitty pile for feeding time. Often, because I was working, the feeding went quickly. But he always got lots of kisses, pets and songs. I made up a lot of songs to sing to them all.
Slowly, very slowly but surely, Ri Ri (as I soon nicknamed him) grew. Within a few weeks he was several ounces bigger and he was out of danger. And by that point, I was deeply in love.
Let me backtrack a moment. Don and I made it VERY clear to Havana, there would be no keeping of any of the kittens. We had 3 cats of our own and did not need another feline in the house. But that Ri Ri, when it came time to adopt them out, I just could not let him go. (and the others would be adopted out in bonded pairs, leaving him on his own). The mere thought of him leaving us would caused me to burst into tears. For days, I sat with this decision. In the end, I just could not do it. He had long been brought into the house (long before the others had left for their new homes) and he just seemed to fit in. And so it was, that Rio became our newest family member. And the girls, well they were long over the moon about this little fella and they waited with bated breath over my decision.
While the humans in the house adore Rio, the four leggeds are not so sure. Samson doesn't want to be bothered. Simba kind of likes him and there are times when he will groom him. Kai will also groom Rio but mostly they play around and rough house. Rio gets a little over zealous at times, causing Kai to sometimes try to hid from him. But Rio just loves to play, he loves to be with others (humans and cats) and he is extremely affectionate. He purrs most of the time and it's a loud purr at that. He is delightful and sweet. Sweetness is his essence.
Rio has come a long way since his teeny tiny self. At 11 months, he is a chubby boy. Amara says he looks like a cat but identifies as a dog because of how much he loves to eat (he steals food from humans), how he follows us around and comes on command. He loves to play catch with air ties. You can throw them, he'll retrieve them. He could do this for hours. He does think he is a dog!! However he sees himself, I am grateful he sees himself, and we see him, as part of our family.
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