{"id":821,"date":"2018-09-22T22:52:51","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T22:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/?p=821"},"modified":"2018-09-22T22:52:51","modified_gmt":"2018-09-22T22:52:51","slug":"what-we-pay-for-our-povs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/22\/what-we-pay-for-our-povs\/","title":{"rendered":"What we pay for our POVs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve had all kinds of kittens over the years, some of whom were instantly fall-in-loveable, others who made me wonder if they would ever find a home. There were a few that should not have been alive after coming down with incurable diseases, others who were so terrified of humans that I had to corral them in a dog crate to meet potential adopters, knowing they would otherwise climb up inside the mattress of the guest room and disappear.<\/p>\n<p>They all found homes. Really good ones.<\/p>\n<p>And for two months I&#8217;ve had two of the sweetest, bravest, most beguiling sisters (now around 4 months old) and despite all my best efforts, I have not been able to find them a home! What was their &#8220;problem?&#8221; Emma and Lizzie are black. Gorgeous, fluffy, outgoing ebony babies.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_9551.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-822\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_9551.jpg?resize=300%2C276&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_9551.jpg?resize=300%2C276&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_9551.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It never even occurred to me that this could be the reason until a fellow rescuer noted that it always took her much longer to adopt out black kittens. A quick online search revealed this is true across the board: black kittens sometimes languish in shelters much longer than their orange, tabby or tuxedo friends. And why? There seems to be no scientific evidence, unless it&#8217;s perhaps that people still think black kitties are a little spooky, a little witchy? I only know that I find them bewitching.<\/p>\n<p>And so I wait, trying to be confident that someone will want to cherish them&#8230; and hopefully before my festival starts in three weeks. \ud83d\ude09 But I&#8217;d settle for anytime as long as it&#8217;s a good home and they can be together.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve been thinking about other examples of times when closing our minds trips us up in regards to our feline friends. I can&#8217;t say how many times people have been talking to me about this or that adult cat who was living the feral life, &#8220;so of course was not adoptable.&#8221; I then become this irritating evangelist, challenging them to open their minds, and pointing out that even adult ferals can be domesticated! And then I have to tell the tale of Big Mike, who was already 3 when he showed up badly wounded and I took him home and got him healed. He took to indoor living immediately, but was still pretty scared of humans, though he tolerated me.<\/p>\n<p>It took a year of patient affections and giving him space, but now I can&#8217;t get him off my lap! The only reminders\u00a0that he used to be a feral are\u00a0his ears, tattered by fights long\u00a0ago.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_0044.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-824\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_0044.jpg?resize=300%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_0044.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_0044.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_0042-e1537655679762.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-823\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_0042-e1537655679762-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_0042-e1537655679762.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_0042-e1537655679762.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Or take Pokey, who was alpha guy of the parking lot when I trapped and brought him home six years ago when he was already around 7 years old! He was crippled from having been hit by a car in his youth, and sick with chronic upper respiratory issues and FIV. He also barely tolerated my touch. And yet, less than a year later and with health stabilized, he became\u00a0my living, breathing teddy bear &#8211; the cat that sleeps with me and is such a good snuggler!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_2439.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-100\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_2439.jpg?resize=300%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_2439.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_2439.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I think sometimes inexperience is our friend, as it was when I innocently just assumed Pokey would become a lap cat. Years later, people can&#8217;t believe he actually did.<\/p>\n<p>So come on, folks. Give these sweet black kittens a chance. They are going stir-crazy in my spare bedroom and need someone to love them 24\/7, as I&#8217;m unable to do. Saint Francis, I could use your help in bringing the perfect home into view. Until then I&#8217;m keeping my mind open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve had all kinds of kittens over the years, some of whom were instantly fall-in-loveable, others who made me wonder if they would ever find a home. There were a few that should not have been alive after coming down &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/22\/what-we-pay-for-our-povs\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":826,"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821\/revisions\/826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janeganahl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}