Yesterday wasn't easy. After several months of worry, talking, brainstorming and praying, we re-homed our kitten, Blossom. You may remember we brought Blossom home from a farm in June 2011. After seven hours of carrying this beautiful tabby kitten around a farmyard, Natalie begged me to let her come home with us.
We said yes.
And Blossom was a great kitten. (Though, honestly, I'm not sure I'd do the baby pet phase again. This was our first and there was a lot of biting, chewing, wildness, etc. that I could probably pass on. Our other three pets were adopted after this phase.)
She was a very active, sweet cat who loved to play, was great with the kids, curled up with us to sleep and rest and kept our other pets more active. We made it through the kitten phase and we kept waiting for things to settle a bit.
Only, things got more difficult.
Soon, we realized that Blossom wasn't chewing things in the house because she was a kitten. She was chewing only plastic. All plastic - as in plastic baggies, grocery bags, garbage bags, toy bags, bread bags, cereal bags, shower curtains, swim belts, cords, life jackets. If she couldn't find any that day, she might chew checks, pictures, papers, frames and toys.
Every day. Obsessively.
It's mind-boggling how much plastic you have in your home, even when you work to get rid of it.
She climbed on the fridge to knock down cereal boxes, to open them up and eat the bag. She opened our kitchen cupboards to climb inside and find bean or bread bags. She learned to open specially ordered garbage cans that hid the bag inside, to eat the bag. Finally, she began jumping on the stove, opening the freezer, climbing inside and eating bun bags. Somehow she never got sick ingesting so much plastic.
We called our vet, explaining our situation. They'd never heard of a plastic-eating problem, or a petroleum deficiency, as we "lovingly" called it. We used positive and negative reinforcements to try to get Blossom away from our things. We filled our house with interesting cat toys. We networked with other pet people for ideas.
Finally, Jason did some online research and discovered that a small percentage of cats become plastic obsessed. Some are intrigued by the texture. Others are attracted to the smell of animal fats inside the plastics. (I had no idea plastic contained them. Gross.) Either way, there usually isn't a way to cure their obsession.
In tears, I realized I was spending at least an hour a day trying to keep Blossom from plastic - hiding things, cleaning up messes, taking her down off tables and counters, hiding more things. Even Natalie's homework comes home in zip-top plastic bags, so we were hiding it in a desk or her backpack, and then forgetting to do it.
I was yelling more, the kids were frustrated and our family dynamics were changing because of Blossom's condition. We simply couldn't do this any longer. I had two kids and three other pets to care for during the day.
So I reached out to friends for suggested homes and contacted three local rescue agencies. One even offered to post her profile online.
And that's how we found her new home. A family contacted me a little over two weeks ago and came over to meet Blossom. We talked about her personality, history, traits and her plastic obsession. They were willing to work with her and really wanted an energetic pet. She loves to play and even fetches, so we all felt good about the match. She went home with them on trial that day.
Two weeks later, on April 2 (Blossom's second birthday), we made the adoption official. She now lives with a mom, two teenagers, a dog and an older cat. They all adore her and are so happy to have her in their family.
We are adjusting. I immediately felt peace and relief during the first few days without Blossom. I could focus on the rest of the family much more easily. I wasn't so tense and constantly on the lookout for left-out items. I didn't have to hide everything in my kitchen and safety-lock my cabinets. I wasn't so worried about having company over and having to spend so much time getting the cat out of things or trying to keep her contained in a room. I could relax.
But we miss her. We miss her "meeps" instead of "meows," her tearing through the house, the cuddles and snuggles, the fetching and playing. We miss her silly antics, love of treats and scratchy tongue. Natalie, especially, is sad. In fact, it's going to be sometime before she can forgive me. She asks me every couple of days to get Blossom back.
She was the one who carried around the tiny farm kitten for seven hours.
And I broke her heart by giving her away.
Blossom, we love you and miss you. Thank you for your two years with us and may you have a long and wonderful life with your new family. We love you.
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