The art of "thank-you"

What do kittens do, besides look cuuuuuute? They eat! And eat. And eat. So I posted our Amazon wish list link on Facebook today, because these little buggers (there are 11, with one more arriving tomorrow) eat five cans a day, and then the adults stare pleadingly, so they get a share as well. That's ten cans of cat food a day, in addition to their dry chow. That's a lot of cat food!

Pepper and Timea's rescuer Jo has been a regular cat food savior, not just for the two cats who came here from her, but the others as well. Megan, who is steadfastly looking for her lost Luca (post to come), nonetheless took time to send the Owl House cats two boxes of wet food two weeks ago. My UPS guy has a sense of humor, hauling these heavy boxes up to the door regularly. Luckily I caught him before he dragged up six boxes of cat litter from Jo earlier this year, since they needed to go to the Owl House HQ barn instead of the house. He always has a smile when he arrives. I think he knows how much these small but heavy boxes mean to the cat who are peeking out at his truck through the windows.

Nom-ing kittens eat me out of house and home each summer. Nancy (adopter of Gizmo and past Owl House foster home) was already planning to come out to visit when I posted the wish list on Facebook, so she stopped by Walmart to pick up kitten and cat food. We played with kittens and cats in the HQ, and sat by the memory garden for a while and talked. It's nice to speak to someone human now and then...especially about something other than cats!

Saying "thank-you" is a grace and a skill. I guess some people are born with it. I was not. I recall once when I was a teenager, someone gave me something and I felt overwhelmed by the gift. I didn't know how to say thank you on such a large scale. I don't remember the gift, but I do remember my mother's words: "Susan, you just need to learn to be gracious about accepting gifts."

And every time I delay in sending a thank-you, and realize, "No! I forgot to email, or blog, or send a note!" I can hear my mother's reminder "Susan, you need to learn to be gracious about gifts." It's such a gentle statement, but nonetheless, firm.

Upon writing this post, I popped into my rescue email and found the following message from Jo:

I saw your "kitten S.O.S." and you should be receiving from Walmart (July 9 arrival):

2 14-lb. bags of Purina Kitten Chow Nurture
1 32-can pack Friskies Savory Shreds
2 packs @ 300-count 9-Inch Paper Plates

Seriously, I am doing a happy dance over 740 paper plates (between Jo and Nancy). And Kitten Chow! I expect kittens toss half of the dry kitten chow they are given out of the cage in their joy de vivre and every time I see the morning mess I tell those kittens "Don't you know you are tossing dimes out of your cage every time you do that?" And then I look at their little round faces and say "Oh my, you are so freaking cuuuuuuute!"

So thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU! Everyone who has donated, who has adopted, or who has just stopped by to comfort and comb the cats, or entertain the kittens, I can't thank you enough. I need to post more about the people you have helped...the people who find these cats and kittens and bring them here. I tend to post only about the actual animals, but no cat ever called, texted, or emailed for help. Only people do. I have left them out of the story, and I need to start adding them. You have helped them too, in a huge way.

Thank you.