Monday, January 22, 2007

ISABEL

We found her exerting her young vocal chords outside our door on a quiet Sunday morning. Her abnormally loud meows alarmed us considering that she wasn’t any bigger than our palms. We frantically waited for her mother to come. She never did.
We looked helplessly at each other as the little creature’s cries grew more desperate. And then we decided to do something. Our motherly instincts galvanized us into action. We put her in a box with some scraps of cloth to serve as warm bedding, bought some milk, a dropper and fed her with great difficulty. She has survived like this for two days.
Her mother refused to claim her as her own flesh and blood. She smelt it suspiciously, turned tail and went back to her other three kittens. Down she plopped beside Isabel’s step siblings and put a protective paw over them and her eyes spoke, “These are my only children I don’t know that imposter.” The bitch! I hate cats precisely for this.
So Isabel came to be taken care of by three surrogate mothers. We try to feed her, understand her demands and needs and provide her with love which her own mother never offered her.
Tomorrow, madam goes to the vet for shots and professional advice which we ignorant young mothers desperately need.
Whether Isabel will survive or not is uncertain. It’s an eternal battle between life and death. And we hope Isabel wins it.