All By Myself…..

I need my Dad ….

It was a year and a half ago when I left home to stay at ‘camp’, or so they called it. And camp out I did, in a cage, for seven months. Seven long months trusting it would be alright  – and because I trusted, I waited, and I expected.  I expected that the commitment that had been made to me would be honored. Yes, I had food and water, and yes, I had a roof over my head. It would be alright, they kept telling me. Someone would come back for me someday.

Well they didn’t. And just as well because obviously someone hadn’t explained to them about decency and responsibility.  And so I lost that home, and spent seven months of caged life, and then came to the Rescue.

I can’t find my Dad …..

Here they know decency. And responsibility.  Kindness and warm hearts and snuggles abound. And a commitment is made to each and every cat that enters the program – to do the very best by that cat that they can do. But these Rescue folks are up against tremendous odds.  Because not only do they have to work to provide for the present and the future, but they work to overcome the past. These folks work to repair the damage done by countless other folks who don’t give a second thought to leaving us by a dumpster, closing us in the basement, kicking us down the stairs, or abandoning us in a kennel for seven months.  The psychological damage can be overwhelming. The physical damage debilitating. The emotional scars long term.

Oh Dad, where are you…….

Some of us bounce back. Some of us, given the time and the patience, can conquer the demons – we can learn to trust again, to believe that we will have food and water, that we will be protected, that we are worthy of love.  And with proper attention and care, some of us can also overcome the long term damage to our physical beings.  And some of us can’t. Some of us will still bite, or swat, or pee inappropriately (mea culpa). Some of us will refuse to eat and some of us will eat until there’s no end in sight.  And some of us, no matter what kind of intervention is taken, will lose the battle.

Dad?

The nice Rescue lady tells me there’s a new family for me, we just have to find them. While I look forward to that, I still wonder about Dad. I sure hope he’s okay, because I’ll miss him.