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In the summer of 2017 my family attended our 5th church mission trip to Whitesville, West Virginia. Well, the first couple years were just my husband and oldest son; then each year my other boys would start high school they would join in. For 5 years my youngest son and I heard all the stories and saw all the pictures, so as soon as he was old enough to go, he and I joined the rest of the family for what we knew would be a life-changing experience.
On day 3 of our mission trip one of my children started talking about a litter of kittens that was on his site. The owner could not keep them and was trying to find homes for them. Apparently, our church, that had been going back to this community for 27 years, had developed a reputation for ‘rescuing’ animals and bringing them back home to Georgia. The pleas started,
“Mom, please can we bring home a kitten?”
“No.”
“But she is sooooo cute!”
“No.”
“She needs to go to a loving home.”
“We already have 2 dogs. No.”
“Mom, look at this picture of her.”
Oh no…
That was my downfall. Once I saw her photo I was instantly smitten with this kitten. Now it would take convincing my husband.
“Scott, what do you think about bringing home a kitten?”
“No.”
“But she is sooooo cute!”
“No.”
“She needs to go to a loving home.”
“We already have 2 dogs. No.”
“Scott, look at this picture of her!”
Yup, that did it for him too.
For 5 years my family had been going to West Virginia and never once brought home a rescue animal until Mom got there. Some might say I was a push over. I say it was meant to be.
How much does love weigh? 2.3 pounds.
Virginia “Ginny” Orban crawled into our family and our hearts that summer – all 2.3 pounds of her. She was tiny but full of kitten energy. She instantly filled a void in our lives and our hearts we never knew we had.
We have always been a dog family. We weren’t sure how she would do with two rather large dogs, so it took a few weeks before we introduced her to her fur sisters. But it wasn’t long before she was queen of the house; sleeping on the dog beds and holding her own.
I always thought people were either dog people or cat people; that you couldn’t be both. How wrong I was! She fit into our lives perfectly.
While Ginny grew, so did our hearts.
How much do you know about love? Very little
In hind sight, we knew nothing about cats. Everything we learned came from Google, girlfriends and Ginny herself. Crawling in baskets and boxes; climbing on counters and couches; pouncing at bugs and birds was all new to us. Ginny loved being on our screened in porch and would stretch out for hours in the sun while intently watching for prey.
We weren’t familiar with the chorus of noises she would make from purring and chattering to the different pitches of meows, and certainly never been through a cat in heat. We learned a lot about cats.
And the more Ginny taught us, the more our love grew.
How much does love cost? Check our Visa bill
When you bring a new kitten home there are instant expenses: kitty litter, litter box, cat food, cat toys, collar, scratch pads, vet bills, and a cat carrier.
We decided not to have her declawed which meant she would claw at our leather furniture and carpets, often damaging them in her wake. She crawled up our Christmas trees sometimes knocking down ornaments in her path.
While some people would want no part of that, it never really bothered me. It was frustrating sometimes; but so is love.
How long does love last? 1 year 9 months
I read cats usually outlive dogs; that they have “9 lives”. So, I fully expected her to be around a long, long time. Sadly, Ginny was born with a genetic heart condition that took her away from us way too soon. I’d never experienced the loss of a pet before and could never fully comprehend the devastation a family felt, until it was us. Seeing the grief in my boys’ eyes while trying to process my own has been heartbreaking.
This little, 2.3 pound kitten from West Virginia touched and changed our lives forever. Saying goodbye to her was one of the hardest things we’ve ever done.
I know we rescued her. But truthfully, she rescued us as well. We miss you sweet girl.
