Its nearly all over

Well, one kitten died this morning. I don't think the other one is going to last much longer. (In fact since I started writing this post the second one has shuffled of its mortal coil also - at about 10:00 last night). I'm not sure if it was just too cold for them (even with the hot water bottle and blankets) or whether i fed them wrong, or whether they missed their mother, or whether they were just not meant to live. They started giving up in the middle of the night. They didn't really want to eat, and were just mewing pathetically. They also started to feel very cold, and even though I tried to warm them I think it was too little too late.

Even though we knew from the beginning that this would probably be the ending it still a bit sad. Why should I care, or anyone (yes, even you reading this)? Surely G-d has His plans, and this was supposed to be this way.

I'm reminded of the end of Sefer Yonah. When the gourd dies and Yonah is sad, G-d says to him, "You took pity on the gourd for whihch you did not labour, nor did you make it grow. It lived one night and perished after one night. Should i not take pity on Ninveh that great city, in which there are more than a 100,000 people who do not know their right hand form their left and many animals as well"

I know that they are vermin, but if G-d takes pity on even the many animals of Ninveh, should we not at least feel a sense of pity, even if it may be daft to act on it?

Also, as a mussar message for myself - if I am prepared to take pity on a tiny kitten, should i not also have pity on myself. By that I mean, if I am prepared to go without sleep for the sake of something that will die, should I not be prepared to go without sleep for life? When it comes to learning Torah I sometimes feel as though I am too exhausted to make it to my chevruta, or to open a sefer on my own. If it was a dying kitten wouldn't I make sure to be there and be awake? So for my own life how much more so!

Thank you everyone for reading, and acting in place of therapy for me. I know the whole thing was really silly, and I should have left them to die. But I am too much of a wimp for that to have ever been a real option.

here is a very short video of the black kitten taken a couple of hours before it died. The squeak had already gone out of it.



Please feel free to leave a condolence message below (or to tell me how stupid I am).
Thank you for reading

David

They have survived

They survived the night!!! Every time I woke up to feed them (actually I didn't go to bed until 3, and then got up to help my son feed them at 4) I expected to find at least one dead kitten. But their lust for life is stronger (so far) than my inexperienced attempts at helping them. I still draw the line at massaging their tushies to help them make (Avi said in a moment of 'whatever you say dad, just let me keep them, please, please, huh, huh, won't you?' that he would help their digestive system to function properly. I've no idea what their life expectancy is now, but so far so good.
Someone pointed out to me that all the great Jewish leaders (including Moshe) were chosen because of their care and dedication at looking after animals (usually sheep). I don't know what that means, but if there is any demand for leadership with qualifications in one night with kittens you can call Avi.
If anyone would like some orphan kittens you are welcome to have them.
If you remember the first Rocky movie you will know all about survivor:

Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive

So many times, it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

Chorus:
It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watchin' us all in the eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry
They stack the odds 'til we take to the street
For we kill with the skill to survive

chorus

Risin' up, straight to the top
Have the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive

(Ring any bells).

I just hope their end is better than the end of this clip about survival:

Along came the cat ...

... and ate the kid.

It is a week before Pesach. We still have hardly started our Pesach cleaning. My wife is due to give birth some time in the next couple of weeks - and my 11 year old son came home today with two kittens less than a day old!!! Their mother abandoned them and so he and a friend had to save them. By the time I came home from work the neighbours had already bought kitten food (at an enormously (enor-mouse-ly?) huge expense) and phoned all the cat protection agencies in Jerusalem - none of whom wanted day old cats (the only option was to call the city vermin removal service, who would probably come along and kill them on the spot).
What to do? They need feeding every 3 hours (even during the night). It took an hour to try and get one load of food into them. They probably won't survive the night anyway. And if they do they will begin to wee in the corner and scratch the kids. BUT they still have their umblical cords attached, they have this eensie weensie mew, and they are so scrawny and helpless.... According to the 'tzar ba'alei chaim' organisation, if we can get them to survive for a week they will try and find a home for them (before putting them to sleep if they don't succeed). (And I'm a vegetarian - I can't even kill a cockroach, how could I kill two cats?)
All I could think of was the story in the Gemara about Rebbe and the rodents (well, first the calf, then the rodents).
We are about to celebrate the festival of freedom. We will begin our seders by saying 'anyone who is hungry should come and eat' (I know all the drashas and Torah on that, I know we don't really mean it, but still, the idea is there, right at the beginning before the pareve chicken soup). Did I have any choice?
And even though Avi promises me that he will get up every 3 hours during the night and feed them, I know that he couldn't even get up for Shul this morning, with me trying to wake him.
In chad gadya we say that the cat ate the goat. These cats aren't even eating cat formula, but they sure have devoured our kids (who were in tears at the thought of anything happening to them).
just about the only thing I can say positively about this whole episode is that at least I can share it with you - the rest of the world. Please give me some words of encouragement and support. And if you would like a day old kitten (or more likely a dead kitten by the time you read this) please feel free to come over and get it.
Thanks for reading
Chag kasher v'sameach
David

PS they look exactly like this only much smaller and not as stripy