No good deed goes unpunished

After seeing Wicked for the first time in 2002 I walked away ecstatic and utterly confused by the song "No Good Deed," Elphaba's angry tirade that comes mid-second act. In it she screams "no good deed goes unpunished." Nothing made sense, do you get punished in doing a good deed? Now, over ten years later, I understand Elphaba's frustration.

Meow

Last week my dad called to ask if I knew anyone looking for a cat. Now, I'm not one to be overly generous with people but if an animal is involved, I'll probably be more generous than I can afford. My cousin who has been battling several diseases for many years was evicted from his home and my aunt (not his mother) was taking him, his newborn baby, girlfriend and two dogs in. His cat, Meow just didn't have a place.

I didn't know much about Meow but I did know he was gray and a male. I continued talking to my aunt looking for someone to take him. I realized soon enough that if I didn't take him or find someone to take him, he would be left behind on the mean streets of Baltimore, fending for himself.

On Saturday night I got a call from my aunt saying they were being evicted soon and I would need to decide whether I could take Meow in. I said yes without thinking of the repercussions. I bought a liter box and a few supplies and surprised my less than enthused mom with the forthcoming kitty.

On the car ride over I texted my cousin learning several unsavory things:

1. He was not neutered.
2. He had never had shots.
3. He was injured.

I told my mom who was angry beyond belief but we couldn't turn around now. Upon entering their house we met Meow who hissed and swatted my cousin when he made him enter the crate. I panicked, my mom panicked, everything was chaos and suddenly I was nervous. What was I going to do? This cat was obviously a mean cat, and definitely would tear apart my cats.

We took him home and let him out in the garage where I soon saw that he was SEVERELY injured. He couldn't walk on his back leg and he was completely lam. He needed medical attention immediately and I needed to find someway to get money to pay for his forthcoming bills. I decided to make a donation site to explain Meow's circumstances. I was unaware of what would come of it.

Shocked, I realized I had raised $110.00 in a day, which doesn't seem like much but it felt like a lot to me. I wanted so badly for Meow to feel better not only because I had fallen in love with him but because I wanted Meow to be a happy, healthy cat. I found out my dad would contribute to the fund too and made an appointment to get his leg looked at.

We took a trip to the vet where he was examined and x-rayed. We found out he has a broken pelvis (aka hip) but he was negative for feline leukemia. The vet told us Meow's pelvis would hopefully heal if we kept him in a cage for eight weeks. We were beyond excited that he would hopefully get back to normal without expensive surgery. We decided to keep him overnight to get his shots done, a microchip and get a more thorough examination. 

Obviously the price tag is much higher than $110.00 but we are all putting our funds together to ensure Meow gets better. We're making a huge sacrifice, the laundry room will become his room and we're hoping our cats get along with him. I'm so glad we took him in, who knows where he'd be if he wasn't in our protective hands. 

Thank you so much to the vet staff who really have helped us, and thank you to everyone who supported us. Meow will now have a forever home in our house and we all know our three resident cats are the epitome of spoiled. I'll keep you all posted on Meow, who's name will probably end up changing sooner rather than later.

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