The Return of Pumpkin the Cat

Pumpkin was a foster kitten in a batch of 10 or 12 we fostered from two or three different litters, about 2 years ago I think. She was very cute and happy, and although her adoptive parents came to look at a different kitten, they fell in love with Pumpkin's charms. She came back to visit now and then, and when her parents go away, she always has a place to stay here. She knows and remembers all of our pets. She's a thin, tall, lanky cat with a long tail and an outgoing attitude. She wants a lot of attention and she'll rise up to get it, standing on two legs for awhile. I can tell she misses her folks; she crawls all over me and rubs my ankles and talks to me in her tiny, tiny voice. She has a small voice compared to her size and to other cats.

With fosters I am sometimes amazed I can get them adopted out when I like them so much. When they come back I often wonder how I ever let them go. But the truth is, animals deserve a lot of attention and the more you have, the less attention each one gets. Though I love dogs, having more than two full-time would be hard for me, and even with two, I have one clear favorite that I am more closely bonded with. It's fun to have extras for awhile, but then it's also nice to go back to the relative stable, calm environment of just the 2 dogs and 4 cats, and the horses, goats and chickens.

An update on the chickens, by the way - I let Sarah and Samantha free range and I let the Ameracunas free in the backyard. They were separated by a fence, but one got through and got beat up by Sarah. It was gross: Sarah's beak was bloody and the olive Ameracuna was bloody. The wounds must have been superficial since I couldn't find them, but I felt bad all the same. It will take another month to get them all combined. Hopefully by then they'll be on better terms, and Gloria's legs will be less scaly too.