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Chapter 28. A Not-So-Blessed Event
During the years I had grown up on East 82nd Street and later moved with my grandmother and mother to a small, cramped apartment in a prewar building on East 88th Street in Manhattan, I had rarely encountered stray animals. But, since moving a few blocks north with my daughter in 1990, the reality was quite different. Our apartment on East 95th Street was only a few blocks from the ASPCA that was then in transition. The old building on 92nd Street off York Ave was to be demolished to make way for a new and modern building further up the block. Unfortunately, this meant numerous animals (including our rescued dog, Bambi) being tied up or otherwise abandoned in front of the old ASPCA building and the surrounding housing projects. One such animal was “Ebony.”
A neighborhood resident informed me that someone had abandoned Ebony the year before on the project grounds. The solid black cat was pregnant at the time and went on to have 5 kittens, all of whom eventually died. Iris continued to feed Ebony everyday and watch over her, but the Russian woman could not take the cat in due to her husband’s allergies. “I worry about her so much,” Iris said in her heavy Russian accent. “The kids around here aren’t nice to her. Sometimes they throw rocks at her. It is not safe for her.” What was worse, was that Ebony was once again, very pregnant. The Russian woman begged me to take Ebony when hearing that I was involved in rescue work. “Please, please take her,” she pleaded. “I will give you food for her.”
One day I met Iris on the project grounds and scooped the friendly black cat into a small blue kennel cab. “Don’t worry, Iris. We will take care of her and her babies. I promise that we will find them all good homes.” Ebony gave birth about two weeks later to seven kittens. At first, Tara and I delighted in the excitement of the birth. We had created a nice, quiet place in the bedroom walk-in closet for Ebony and her babies. Ebony was an excellent mom, constantly cleaning, feeding and caring for her kittens. She rarely left them. But, the strain of having such a large litter took a great deal out of the mother cat. Already thin from her time on the streets, Ebony became emaciated with the constant feeding of seven kittens. Tara and I had to supplement her with vitamins, kitten food and Nutrical. Iris was concerned when seeing Ebony so thin. “So many kittens,” she exclaimed. “Ebony was not in shape for such a large birth!”
Despite our concerns for the mother cat, Ebony’s kittens nevertheless thrived and grew quickly. At about five weeks of age, they began to eat kitten food and started running all around Tara’s room. When I tried to give them more access to the rest of the apartment, Bambi, our rescued Husky became too rough in playing with them. I was worried the dog might hurt them and decided to keep the kittens confined to Tara's room.
But, Tara’s patience began to run out. The kittens broke a favorite doll Tara had cherished since childhood. They ripped up school papers and peed on homework. Tara complained to me several times, but I was at a loss on what to do. “Try to be more careful with your stuff, Tara! They’re just kittens! In a few weeks they will be old enough for adoption. Bear with me a little longer!”
But, once again, a strain developed between Tara and myself with my daughter feeling that my priority was with the animals, rather than her. As one who never felt school to be important when I attended, I could not appreciate my daughter’s distress over a few ruined papers. After all, wasn’t saving lives more important than test scores? But, to Tara, test scores and homework were her means for making it to college.
About a month later, the kittens began to find their adoptive homes and Ebony slowly began to gain her health and strength back. But, the damage between Tara and me was done. While Tara had been very supportive to me in my efforts of gaining independence from my mother and changing course in life, she now felt deeply that I was not supportive of her. I would of course, not realize this for years later.