After losing Boo, we decided to get a new kitten. This time I was hoping for a girl. My college has a vet’s office on campus with pets available for adoption… but no kittens were available. I found the number of another shelter in a nearby town. I called that shelter and found out a litter of kittens had just been brought in and there was a “female” kitten available for adoption. When I arrived at the shelter to pick up the kitten, I was in utter dismay at the facilities. In the same room as the kitten was a whole wall of feral (stray) cats that were collected to be spayed and neutered. The floor was filthy and nothing seemed to be in order. When I looked into the cage, I saw the most adorable little black kitten who just looked at me with “her” big eyes… ears all perked up with the expression of “save me” written all over that endearing face. It was love at first sight. “She” was very tiny and looked as though she had not eaten in days. “She” was covered in muck and as soon as I picked “her” up, she curled on my shoulder and nuzzled into my neck for a nap. It felt like a sign that this kitten and I were meant to be together. Notice I keep saying “her” and” she” in quotation marks. More on that in a minute.

I immediately asked the woman how much I owed her so I could be on my way home with my new companion. I paid the woman and we were off. That afternoon I made an appointment for the next day to have her seen at my vet’s office, and gave her what I was sure was the first bath and real meal of her life. It became apparent that the kitten I had just adopted was not only malnourished, but was also 2 weeks younger than the pound claimed she was, making her only 4 weeks old, and she weighed only about a pound. I also realized that the animal shelter had not inspected this kitten very closely. “She” was not a she at all. She was a HE. I named him Mumble because this was a very boisterous kitty, mewing at me frequently. Mumble was a very happy kitten, running around like little kittens do, causing all sorts of mischief. I was thrilled with the newest addition to the family.