PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The sounds of a kitten meowing had passengers in a parking lot at Portland International Airport very concerned — and for good reason — they feared the cat may have been trapped inside a car parked in the lot. Several people called police dispatchers to report hearing the kitten’s meow. The calls started coming in Tuesday night and continued into Wednesday morning…. Early Wednesday morning, the crews placed food on a piece of paper beneath the car — thinking the cat may have been hiding in the engine compartment or a wheel-well. Eventually, the kitten crawled out from somewhere underneath the vehicle. As crews approached, the kitten darted off…. As for the kitten…after it ran away Wednesday morning, crews continued routine patrols into the afternoon. They used a small, well-placed trap with tuna where the kitten was last seen, which “[soon] seemed to do the trick.”…. The kitten is now being cared for by an airport employee.
The best part of this story is that the “airport employee” is me….
Say hello to Sjón (pr. “Shoan”- his namesake is an Icelandic poet), the newest member of our family. He came into our lives rather unexpectedly, but it’s a feel-good story that even the local media picked up. I mean, who doesn’t love a kitten, right? Especially one rescued the circumstances Sjón faced.
A number of people have said kind things to and about me for giving the kitten a home. While I appreciate the sentiments, I’m here to tell you that selflessness was way down my list of priorities when I first met Sjón. I’ll own the truth that it was TOTALLY a selfish act on my part, one that Erin was kind enough to indulge. I fell in love with Sjón the moment I laid eyes on him, and when the folks in the PDX Operations office mentioned they were looking for someone to give a wayward kitten a home, I was all over it. As far as I was concerned, NO ONE else was going to be taking him home.
I love animals, and I’m a sucker for cats and dogs. Some who know me believe (not without reason) that I enjoy animals more than people. They’re much easier to get along with, and (though cats often have their own agenda) their affection can be much more genuine and open. No one who knows me is surprised that I’d readily take a stray kitten in so impulsively. Some of the best decisions in my life have been impulsive…and I’d take another stray or two in if I thought Erin would be on board. She probably wouldn’t be, and that’s OK; she’s the sensible one. I tend to be the emotional and impulsive one…which explains why I was the one walking through the airport with a cat carrier Wednesday evening.
Part of my interest in the kitten was because of the odd symmetry with another time in my life. In 1985, I found a kitten that rode (and survived) 30+ miles on the rear axle of a station wagon I was traveling in. He emerged from the ordeal dirty and disheveled but otherwise in good shape. I took him home…and Makis was with me for 15 years. He moved cross-country with me three times, and he was the closest thing to a son I’ve had. Makis would eat my cereal, drink out of my coffee cup, and he slept under the covers between my feet. Fifteen years after I buried him in the backyard of my home in Texas, thinking about him still brings a smile to my face. Sjón entered my life in much the same manner, and I feel as if I’ve been here before…because I have.
Who says history isn’t circular?
I took Sjón to the vet on Saturday, where he received a clean bill of health. He eats like a linebacker, and he’s a bundle of energy who’s rarely stationary. He weighed in at all of 24 ounces, so the vet figured that he’s probably about six weeks old. At barely larger than a $20 bill and blindingly fast, I have to be extremely careful about where I’m walking. I’ve already stepped on him once (he’s fine), but my biggest fear is squashing him. I find myself walking around and past furniture very gingerly. He’s developed a habit of holing up under our one of our couches and then darting out, so watching out for him is going to take some getting used to.
Growing up, it seemed we always had multiple dogs and/or cats around the house, so I associate “home” with having four-legged creatures sharing my space. Erin’s not really an animal person, and she’s been a tougher sell when it’s come to discussions of having more than one cat. To her credit, she readily agreed to me bringing Sjón home, and she’s come around pretty quickly. Sometimes you just do something because it feels like the right thing to do and things manage to fall into place as if it was meant to be all along.
I hope the past few days are merely the first chapter of a very long story. Stay tuned….
