Hello, community friends! 👋 Today I'm here to introduce you to my two babies: KP3 (the older one) and Odysseus (the younger one). Both are rescues. 🐈🐈⬛ The living, tangible, meow-able proof that the Global Cat Distribution System has zero respect for human decisions. It does its own thing, does it its way: if it decides it's time for you to adopt a cat, it drops one on you and that's it, and you're left to deal with another one.
In KP3's case, I picked him up along with his little brother in pretty bad shape. It was winter (although it doesn't usually get very cold in Cuba, the 14C° / 57F° we can get here in Havana are not comfortable at all for two kittens in the open air). They were malnourished and dehydrated. Even though I was in a rental, had just arrived in the city myself, and didn't have great conditions to keep them, I thought I could keep them temporarily and put them up for adoption when they were better. What could go wrong? Right? 😅
His little brother found a home right away, but KP3 is a special kitten. When I adopted him, he was, frankly, ugly. He was born with a palpebral coloboma that affects his vision, his little face was swollen, his eyes were sickly, he was strange. People assumed he was blind (he's not, although he relies more than usual on smell and touch, which tells me he probably doesn't see very well).
Many told me he was a cat with Down Syndrome (which is an internet myth), that he would surely have many special needs and wouldn't live long. The only special need my cat has is for a lot of affection... and a worrying lack of survival instinct, but that's another story. He stayed longer, and in the end, here we are, him and me, for almost a year now.
I guess at some point you resign yourself to the fact that you got a cat from the lottery, period. I got a cat who eats avocado, 🥑 with a crooked eye and only one testicle. What can you do.
And just when I thought the System had gotten its way and everything would stay like that, Odysseus appeared.
He was next to a garbage dump, almost unconscious. VERY dehydrated, very malnourished. 🗑️😿 If I left him there, he wouldn't survive. I'm told someone dumped a box with seven kittens in that dump, but no matter how much I looked (yes, I climbed into the trash, don't judge me) I only saw this one. I prefer not to think about the others.
Anyway, here we are. At first, I had to keep them in separate rooms because KP3 wasn't very happy about it. Then I started introducing them very carefully. It took me a whole day of intensive work to get KP3 to not attack, only to run away. 🐾💨
At some point, he decided that this orange thing was of his own species and started playing with him. He doesn't hurt him, and Odysseus imitates him and learns useful things, like eating solid food and grooming himself properly. 🍗🧼 All that playing is good for both of them. I suspect the System gave me KP3 because it saw that I needed a cat, but it brought Odysseus because KP3 needed one.
But I'm afraid that, whatever the System says, this cat is leaving. I can't have two, I just can't. I'm waiting for him to get a little bigger (he fits in one hand, and my hands are small) to deworm him and put him up for adoption. All my friends are placing bets. 🎲 They think that in the end, I'll give him a name that's more "my style" and keep him. This name thing is a whole other story that I'll tell you in another post.
Who do you think will win, the Cat Distribution System or me? 🏆🤔