One reader recalls her first ever cat, when she was seven years old. She adopted the tortoise shell tabby when her parents deemed it time for her to accept some responsibility. Honestly, we have to admit that this is never a successful endeavour as we, as parents, always end up looking after the pet no matter how we try to convince ourselves, or our children, to brush, feed and play with the animal.
Thus when considering adoption, it is always best to be aware that the responsibility is one that will most likely fall on you.
The little girl in our tale named the kitten Tinks, after Tinkerbelle in Peter Pan and she enthusiastically took to the cat and did her best to look after the little feline. Unfortunately, Tinks was a week little thing and caught cat flu while quite young. She was taken to the local vet and diagnosed, and while there passed away. This is a truly upsetting experience, as we all know, for the loss of your first pet is very often the hardest to bear, as comprehending that loss at such a young aged is quite difficult.
The vet was very sympathetic towards our reader and as they too, felt that Tinks was a special kitten, they planted a rose bush in her honour and buried the kitten at the base of the bush. They also gave our reader a little card that explained that they were sorry for the kittens loss and that the kitten is now in kitty heaven.
Such special treatment from vets is almost unheard of, as they are usually overcrowded with patients and sport jaded personnel. It is an exception to find a place that shows such a personal concern for their clients. But this little touch of humanity truly made a huge difference to our readers’ view of veterinary care, as instead of seeing it as a place where animals go to die, it is viewed as a place where animals go to heal.
