Yesterday as we got their things together and prepared them to meet their new family I felt sick to my stomach. Were we doing the right thing? These are our fur-babies, our girls. Will they feel like we abandoned them? Will they understand?
Coming home after settling them in was really hard as we started realising that they weren’t here with us anymore. We won’t have them jumping on the bed looking for cuddles or asking for food anymore. We won’t see them crazy-running around the flat anymore. No more cat fur on our bed to brush off.
New Home for our Fur-Children
This week we had to face one of our biggest challenges yet in this journey. We had to hand over our two beautiful little kitties to a new family.
This was by no means an easy decision for us to come to but when all the options were weighed up it seemed selfish for us to take them with to Zambia. We have deliberated long and hard about this and although it is very difficult for us we know that this is the best option for them.
Chavuma Challenges for Cats
The first challenge in Chavuma is that there are no vets nearby. Chavuma is very isolated and the nearest vet would be about 12 hours away.
Secondly, our girls have been used to a very protected life here in Cape Town. They have been eating high quality vet food and live in a safe area with hardly any dangers around. In Chavuma, they will face many challenges and threats to their life. There are crocodiles, snakes, scorpions, eagles and most frightful feral hunting dogs that like to hunt anything that moves. We are most concerned that something happens to them and we can’t help them because the vet is too far away.
A Happy new home
When we arrived at their new home, they curiously, nervously explored their new surroundings. It was a great sense of relief to us that we could be there for dinner and spend the evening there to see our girls finally start relaxing and getting comfortable.
We are extremely thankful to Adrian, Joanne, Ava and Corben for being willing to open their home and their hearts to our fur-babies. You guys are an answer to prayer. Thank you that we can entrust our kitties into your loving care. We hope that they will bring you as much joy as they did us and that our girls will feel right at home there with you for the rest of their lives.
We know that Perpetua and Autumn will be loved and taken care of, but it still hurts to say goodbye.
Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Mark 10:28–30
Oh my goodness they are so beautiful and my heart goes out to both of you for this huge decision you are making (have made) and I know you will be richly blessed by God for this. I know exactly how you feel, as our furbabies are our children too and I cannot imagine parting with them. May God bless you both mightily and I agree it’s the best thing for Perpetua and Autumn, whilst it hurts like crazy. God will take care of them. Much love, Diane
Thank you for your kind words Diane. We really appreciate the love. It has been some consolation that we could still be here to see that they are settled in at their new home and that they are happy there. I’m sure they will bring much joy to their new family. Much love from us too.