Saying goodbye to the Kitten No One Wanted..

I am so struck by what the shelter said to me when they first asked me if I might want to foster Odilia.. 'Do you want her, she has no eyes, no one wants her'

How could I possibly refuse?

She came to me in April, the 23rd to be exact.. small, but robust, friendly and outgoing. She was the size of a three week old kitten but had the teeth of a five week old one. So who knows how old she really is. Talking with Amy Jo we thought that April 1st would be a wonderful day to celebrate her birth.

Amy showed up on Thursday and came to visit.  She couldn't take Odilia because they were staying in a non-pet friendly hotel - like I minded in the least. (oddly enough they ended up staying in a room called Ophelia)

Friday we went and did her adoption.

Amazingly enough while we were there two other kitties went home as well.  For a Friday morning that is impressive..  One of which I got photos of last week and you'll see him in the next installment of "Shooting at the Shelter"

Amy and I then spent some time together, shopping for goodies for Odilia and showing her the sites, including Lenny the Chocolate Moose..  I dropped her off at her hotel and she and Ray went to dinner and I went home for some last cuddles.  I was very fortunate that Odilia was in a cuddly mood.  We had a good long snuggle.. she played with the random tear that fell down my cheek.  Generally I prefer my fosters to be all playful and not snuggly in those last days, it tells me they are ready to go... but I was happy for the time. Odi has been with me far longer than most kittens - and it has been a while since I have had long term kittens. Generally they leave at 10 - 12 weeks of age and they rarely stay that long unless they were born here and when that happens they don't have personalities for the first few weeks.. and I haven't had a kitten born here in a while.

Saturday they came to pick her up to drive the 9+ hours home. They set her up in a kennel for the ride and the photo she shared with me showed that once again she drove beautifully..

And yes, I sobbed after she left. I felt silly because it was exactly what I wanted. I could not have been happier - well no, that's not true.. If Amy Jo decided to move and live across the street I could be happier.. but barring my own personal brand of crazy I couldn't be happier with where she ended up.  Amy has invited me to visit, and I don't doubt I will do that one day.  Until that day I always have this brand of crazy to keep me company

Come on Momma, lets get some chocolate cream pie and snuggle...

I'm hoping to get Amy Jo to do a guest post and share some of her photos of the trip home.. but I imagine she's a little stressed over the whole situation so I'm not sure when it will be.  I can tell you she is doing amazingly well.  There has been a bit of adjustment on her end with older siblings, but they are patient with her and I am sure in time it will be like she has always been there..