I donned by dirty jeans and ripped t-shirt and headed north towards the farm. When we got to grandpa's house he put on his coveralls and met us outside in the patch a dirt that would soon be the garden.
Before we could start, Grandpa had us collect a hodge-podge of things. First an 18 inch stick, then a piece of string, and finally a water hose. Each item took us to a different corner of the homestead, searching and finding.
While I followed my brother around the back side of the garage in search of a water hose, I was filled with nostalgia. I remembered doing things just like this when I was much younger. Growing up around the farm was the funnest part of my childhood. We were always playing in the dirt, making up games and creating hiding houses.
One of my favorite memories on the farm was finding litters of kittens each spring. I always searched for new litters and upon finding them it was customary for me to catch one, then run inside and show grandma. Grandma would then help me take care of them and make them a box to live in so we could feed them and hopefully tame them into being friendly cats.
I was reminiscing this springtime scene in my head when I said to my brother, "I wish I would find a kitten." It didn't help that I had been bugging my parents for one since I moved back home. We have a lovely dog, but I've never been much of a dog person. I wanted a kitten that would cuddle with me and sleep at my feet while I read books and paint. Needless to say, my desire to find a kitten was pretty strong.
As soon as the words left my mouth my brother replied in his always cool, never excited tone, "there's one." He threw out the words as though it were as common as seeing dirt. One side glance to the left and he continued walking like nothing extraordinary had happened.
Me on the other hand, was a different story.
As I turned the corner of the barn I saw the most adorable kismet moment ever! All alone, by himself at only a few weeks old, was this tiny, precious white ball of fur with black spots. He was so small and so sweet. I ran to his side and instantly grabbed him. As soon as I looked in his eyes I knew he was to be mine.
It was a sign.
Kittens that small don't wander off by themselves, and they especially don't go out of momma's eyesight. I looked around the nooks and crannies nearby but found no other kittens, nor any sign of a momma cat. This definitely wasn't good for the little guy, but it was great for me because it meant I had stumbled on to the responsibility of caring for a baby kitten.
Of course the next thing to happen was my pure bred instinct. I ran inside to show Grandma. Grandma, who is much slower now than she was when I was a child, was no less excited and pleased with my discovery. We petted him and held him and talked about what to name him.
Then suddenly my heart was split. I was supposed to be helping in the garden! The garden was why I went out there in the first place! I told Grandma I had to finish helping Grandpa and kindly asked her to watch my new baby.
Grandma joyfully accepted and soon found a towel and a blanket for our new friend.
After I finished helping in the garden I knew I had only a small amount of time to get ready for a wedding I was attending that afternoon. I walked back up to Grandma's house and found her on the porch cuddling with my new kitten. She talked about how strange it was for a kitten that small to be so calm and comfortable with people. I agreed.
"Are you gonna keep him?" Grandma asked me.
An ornery smile crossed my face as I tried to explain how badly I had been wanting a kitten, yet how persistently my dad had told me I couldn't have one.
"What do you think I should do?" I asked.
"I'm not telling you one way or the other because I don't want your daddy being mad at me!" she replied with a chuckle and a grin.
I knew I didn't have long to decide because I needed to get ready for this wedding. Plus, I couldn't just set the kitten back where I found it and come back for it later after thinking about it, because it would be gone.
I thought about leaving it on Grandma's front porch room, but then I knew she would worry about it and go out of her way to take care of it, which she didn't need to do in her health.
So I took the kitten.
I wasn't sure if I would keep it or not, but I was dang sure going to try! Besides, I could probably sneak it into my room and keep it for the weekend without anyone noticing.
Except as soon as I stepped out of my car and into our driveway, I looked up to see my Dad walking towards me. I hid the kitten behind my back, and because I am a horrible liar I did a poor job of trying to hide the smirk on my face.
"What is it?" Dad must have sensed it.
"Nothing."
"What's behind your back?"
Shoot.
I was caught.
I melted and took the kitten from behind my back. I held it up in my daddy's face and gushed over how cute it was and how it was fate that we met and how I had to keep it and that I would take care of it completely.
"No!"
"But Dad..."
"No. We are not keeping that cat. Take it back now."
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to take it back. I only had time to throw together an outfit and rush to the wedding I was already late for.
So I grabbed a bucket and some towels and gently placed my kitten inside. (Mom was already on my side, by the way. She had kindly offered to watch out for it while I was busy going about my Saturday.)
The next day I played with the kitten and fed him from a syringe and loved it and ignored my Dad's nagging to take it back.
A few more days went by and Mom and I took turns hand feeding the kitten milk. We played with her and grew deeply attached.
When my brother came home from school, he instantly warmed up to the kitten. In fact, he named it D'Jango. Where he got the name, I do not know.
"This is the coolest cat ever!" my brother would say.
This kitten had to be only 4 weeks old at the most. For a kitten that young to be so playful and people-oriented is extremely rare.
Eventually we weaned D'Jango off of the syringe and taught him to lap up milk with his tongue. For some reason he always had to put his paw in the milk first, making a mess of himself, then he would begin drinking.
The whole family fell in love with D'Jango, even Dad. We loved him and we all took turns taking care of him and playing with him.
During week two of his stay with us, our cousins from Nebraska came to visit. They loved her too. Every day that week someone was constantly holding or playing with D'Jango. I was so proud of my kitten. D'Jango was growing so fast too! Towards the end of the week we decided he was old enough to sleep outside of his box. Up until then we had been keeping him in a box in the garage. But seeing how he didn't run off and he followed us everywhere, we started allowing him to use the entire garage. He loved this idea because the second we shut him in a box he cried and cried.
The following Tuesday was a big day for D'Jango. He had graduated from a milk-only diet to dry cat food and milk. Mom bought some kitten food for him and I looked at the Dollar Store for a cute collar and litter box for my baby. I didn't find either, but decided I'd make a trip to Petco soon.
After work that day I painted in my studio. The entire time D'Jango played at my feet or watched from my shoulder. Even our dog Minnie had warmed up to this kitten. She was absolutely fascinated with him.
Around 10pm I got ready for bed. I changed into my pajamas, brushed my teeth and then took D'Jango out to the garage. Kissing him over and over again as I always did when I put him to bed, I told him I loved him and set him on his tie-died fleece blanket he loved so much.
Before I left the garage he was already curled up in a ball and drifting into sweet kitten-sleep.
***To be Continued...
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