I Guess We're Attracting Animals...

Though I would not consider myself to be fully convinced about the whole Law of Attraction thing, this past year has certainly caused me to wonder what we are doing to cause animals to come to us. Unlike any time in my life, animals are coming to us as if there is some sort of dog-and-cat-Star-of-Bethlehem hanging over our house.

First our next door neighbors got two kittens, who promptly decided that they would rather live on our deck rather than at their own house.

Next, Marlee came stumbling down the road and into our hearts.

Then Toby (now upgraded to King Toby :) ) the cat showed up in the winter. I will admit that his excellent personality and talent for catching mice caused us to decide to entice him to stay with food and snuggles and a warm spot in the house on the coldest nights.

Next the two kitten grew up and became parents. Momma cat Oreo gave birth to her litter of kits under the deck (of course), and we were only able to find a home for one out of the three. $300 in vet bills later for respiratory illness, ear mites, etc. we now have four healthy cats living on our deck.




And today my oldest son found a starving little kitten in front of a well-known drug house. And he brought it home.

Here's my thing about animals. I kind of dread getting them, because I take their care seriously. And with six kids and a growing group of pets, I feel stretched thin, mostly financially, in my ability to properly care for them.

We cannot have cats in our home. We have a son with asthma, and two nearby family members that are very allergic to cats. Having full-time indoor cats just isn't going to work for us. We have an outbuilding that is fixed up for kitty comfort in the cold months, but I still feel sorry for them. :( When we took the sick kittens to the vet I found out about their ear mites, which looks like a horrible situation for any creature to endure.... I went in there thinking I would get some inexpensive antibiotics, and walked out with a bill for $300 that took us nearly 2 months to pay off (and causing us to be unable to pay other stuff).

I hate to see anybody--human or animal--suffering and in need of love. But I recognize that it just isn't realistic for me to take it all on myself. We are putting the word out on facebook to try to find a home for this little kitty. If not there, we will probably take him to the local humane society tomorrow.

What do you think? How do other people with compassion for animals draw the line?