Carlito: One Year Later
A year ago Saturday I literally snatched a soaking wet kitten off of a highway in a downpour outside the heart of the Confederacy, Leesburg, VA.
In gratitude for having snatched him from onrushing traffic (vehicles filled with V.I.P.s too busy talking on their cell phones, drinking coffee, & looking at themselves in the mirror to stop & help), the kitten bit my hand (in the soft, fleshy part between the thumb & the index finger) so badly that tears flowed as freely as the rain.
Nevertheless, I held on (through the tears & much cursing) long enough to race across the highway to my waiting Xterra & rip open the door--& fling the terrified & soaking-wet mass of white fur with black spots into the back & onto a pile of horse blankets.
Because the little fellow (I did not know the sex of the kitten at the time) had bitten me, I became (perhaps unnecessarily) concerned about the possibility of rabies transmission (cats are NOT primary rabies vectors).
So I took him to an emergency vet office nearby & the staff there called Loudoun County, VA animal control. Loudoun County Animal Control (LCAC) quarantined the kitten for 10 days.
I called LCAC first thing Monday morning (I rescued the kitten on Saturday) to inquire abut the health of the kitten. I was told he had upper respiratory & eye infections. They refused to treat him for either.
I was also informed that no matter the result of the rabies quarantine the kitten would be euthanized/killed after 10 days because he was a "feral" cat.
Needless to say I was outraged. Several arguments later & I launched a campaign to save & adopt the kitten.
I called the Loudoun County Supervisor's/Executive's office & spoke with his assistant & then I called the local newspapers & an advocacy group that was already fighting the LCAC's high-kill policy.
After a week of advocacy, including letter-writing to the local newspapers, a meeting with the director of LCAC, & a phone call from the County Supervisor to the Director of LCAC, LCAC agreed to refrain from killing the kitten & to allow me to adopt him.
When I went into LCAC the following week to pick up the little kitten, to whom I had decided to give the name (after the protagonist in the Al Pacino movie "Carlito's Way"), I saw a beautiful & quiet grey cat in the LCAC's cattery.
Turns out this cat was deemed to be at least 12 years old & had been at LCAC for nearly two months.
I had called earlier in the week to ask about another older cat, a Tortie named Caroline, & was informed that she "was no longer there."
Persistent questioning revealed that Caroline had been killed/euthanized the evening before because she was older & had not been adopted in over two months.
When I learned that the grey cat, named Minerva, was older & been a LCAC for two months, I knew I had to adopt her in addition to Carlito-as LCAC would have shortly killed her.
And the rest is now a year's worth of history.
Carlito, Minerva, & I live in our shoebox in the Confederacy (until we can escape) & I, a life-long dog person, now share my life with the unforgettable & ceaselessly entertaining & loving Carlito & Minerva.
Carlito: One Year Later
A year ago Saturday I literally snatched a soaking wet kitten off of a highway in a downpour outside the heart of the Confederacy, Leesburg, VA.
In gratitude for having snatched him from onrushing traffic (vehicles filled with V.I.P.s too busy talking on their cell phones, drinking coffee, & looking at themselves in the mirror to stop & help), the kitten bit my hand (in the soft, fleshy part between the thumb & the index finger) so badly that tears flowed as freely as the rain.
Nevertheless, I held on (through the tears & much cursing) long enough to race across the highway to my waiting Xterra & rip open the door--& fling the terrified & soaking-wet mass of white fur with black spots into the back & onto a pile of horse blankets.
Because the little fellow (I did not know the sex of the kitten at the time) had bitten me, I became (perhaps unnecessarily) concerned about the possibility of rabies transmission (cats are NOT primary rabies vectors).
So I took him to an emergency vet office nearby & the staff there called Loudoun County, VA animal control. Loudoun County Animal Control (LCAC) quarantined the kitten for 10 days.
I called LCAC first thing Monday morning (I rescued the kitten on Saturday) to inquire abut the health of the kitten. I was told he had upper respiratory & eye infections. They refused to treat him for either.
I was also informed that no matter the result of the rabies quarantine the kitten would be euthanized/killed after 10 days because he was a "feral" cat.
Needless to say I was outraged. Several arguments later & I launched a campaign to save & adopt the kitten.
I called the Loudoun County Supervisor's/Executive's office & spoke with his assistant & then I called the local newspapers & an advocacy group that was already fighting the LCAC's high-kill policy.
After a week of advocacy, including letter-writing to the local newspapers, a meeting with the director of LCAC, & a phone call from the County Supervisor to the Director of LCAC, LCAC agreed to refrain from killing the kitten & to allow me to adopt him.
When I went into LCAC the following week to pick up the little kitten, to whom I had decided to give the name (after the protagonist in the Al Pacino movie "Carlito's Way"), I saw a beautiful & quiet grey cat in the LCAC's cattery.
Turns out this cat was deemed to be at least 12 years old & had been at LCAC for nearly two months.
I had called earlier in the week to ask about another older cat, a Tortie named Caroline, & was informed that she "was no longer there."
Persistent questioning revealed that Caroline had been killed/euthanized the evening before because she was older & had not been adopted in over two months.
When I learned that the grey cat, named Minerva, was older & been a LCAC for two months, I knew I had to adopt her in addition to Carlito-as LCAC would have shortly killed her.
And the rest is now a year's worth of history.
Carlito, Minerva, & I live in our shoebox in the Confederacy (until we can escape) & I, a life-long dog person, now share my life with the unforgettable & ceaselessly entertaining & loving Carlito & Minerva.