Hope Blooms After The Storm

Ever hear the expression, "Curiosity killed the cat"? I have a new one: "Procrastination kills the cat inside." Which means...well, you know what it means. I've been gone for way too long. But I'm back and that, my good friends, is what counts.

Speaking of counting, my lady's feral cat colony has grown to ten cats, four of them almost-grown kittens. All but two of the kittens have been captured with the help of Indy Feral, an Indianapolis-based organization that promotes TNR (trap-neuter-release) for wild cats that cannot be tamed. After the cats are (gasp!) altered, they are released into the yards of the caretakers who make sure they are fed and cared for if injured. Frankly, I've quite enjoyed the experience of watching these strange outdoor cats through the kitchen window, and it seems to make my lady and her daughter happy, which makes me happy too.

Our new reputation as the neighborhood animal champions brought a new challenge this morning. An injured wild rabbit, who my lady's girl named Bun Bun Brown, was sitting in our neighbor's driveway. Something must have attacked or run over it, and the bunny was in deep shock. After a few phone calls, my lady reached Kristen Heitman of Providence Wildlife Rehabilitation. Kristen took the rabbit in and promised to do her best to heal it, although its injuries were serious so the outlook was not good. In addition to the bunny, other animal lovers brought in four Mallard ducklings orphaned after last night's horrible hail storm, a Coot with a broken leg, an injured Canada Goose who had lost her mate, and a Loon (a rare site indeed) that had been hit by a car.

Kristen works part-time to help fund her rescue service and, sadly, gets few donations. She hopes to create her own website soon and recruit volunteers. If you would like to help Kristen, either as a volunteer or by sending a tax-deductible donation, please call her at (317) 902-DUCK or write to her at P.O. Box 40491, Indianapolis, IN 46240. Providence is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation.

I hope little Bun Bun Brown survives. There's always hope but, if not, at least the little guy will know the meaning of kindness in his final hours, which is something that all of us deserve, whether we live in a suit of skin or fur.