If you come by the studio you might notice a flash of orange flitting across my concrete floors. A trill here, a chirp there, and little white mittens skirting across the room. That would be a new friend Sir Julius Orangelo Tang aka Poon Tang.
My little friend Tang came to me quite unexpectedly. I was on a livestream when a local man told he had kittens. His cat, a beautiful white feline named Snowball had gotten out and came back pregnant. Soon after she gave birth to a beautiful litter of 4 kittens. Two white kittens, and two orange ones. 1 girl and 3 boys.
The first girl got adopted by a friend of his and he had just the 3 boys left. I had my eyes on the nervous little white one with a grey spot on his head. He was quiet and withdrawn but I was attracted to his gentle spirit. Unfortunately I couldn’t go through with the adoption because the city had towed my car and has been holding it hostage for weeks. Ultimately it made a lot more sense to put my resources toward securing transportation than another cat, especially since I have my OG boy Milo.
Then… something awful happened. He came in my live and told me one of the kittens had passed. I was confused, and I asked him how this happened. He chuckled as he told me that it was an accident. Apparently the kitten had bit him and he ‘saw red.’ The kitten took off noticing the shift in energy and he went after it…I don’t have the exact details but… the kitten didn’t survive the assault. And it was the little white one with the grey spot on his head.
I was horrified. My wide eyes brimmed over with tears and I immediately ended the live. I texted a friend who had been sitting in the chat frantically, “OMFG did he just say what I thought he said?”
I’ve been beside myself thinking… maybe if I had just made the decision earlier, I could have saved him. I spent the next week contacting anyone I could to go with me to his house and pick the kittens up. No one was available, or the timing didn’t line up. I was chewing on my nails, praying that I could get over to them sometime soon. Eventually the opportunity presented itself and in a car with 3 of my friends we finally liberated the last two.
The white one got adopted by a family who had acres of land and other animals about 2 hours outside of Springfield, IL and the orange one… well he’s mine now. He reminded me a lot of Milo. How when I first got Milo he settled into my space immediately. He was relaxed, cuddly, and calm (at least as calm as a kitten can be). I was on Facetime with a girlfriend and she told me, “Honey, I don’t know what to tell you, that baby is home.”
So, Tang is now a permanent part of my little family. We are taking our time to introduce him to my resident cat Milo and trying to get together enough money to afford his shots and care. Everything so far has gone toward bills and his initial costs. If you’re able my family would greatly appreciate any help toward his care.
In the meanwhile you can look forward to seeing him bop around the studio. Maybe stop by soon and say hello to my new little friend. Til’ the next one.