Decoding The Kitten Distribution System
When the Universe Decides You're Worthy...
I recently saw a cute reel on Instagram where the Instagrammer proposed a Kitten Distribution System (KDS). He opined that if the universe thinks you are a good person, you may randomly be given a kitten.
The kitten won’t suddenly appear in your home — like “Poof, here’s a kitten.”
No.
You may find a kitten as you’re sitting on a bench waiting for a bus or taking your garbage to the dumpster. A kitten may nudge against your legs and meow to get your attention.
You pick it up. It purrs. You fall in love. It’s yours. That’s the Kitten Distribution System at work.
Apparently, there’s a huge backlog, because many kittens haven’t been placed and are stuck in shelters.
The Instagrammer also said it’s not always easy. Sometimes, you will decide to seek out adoption. That’s the Kitten Distribution System working in a subtle manner, but it’s still there beneath the surface.
It’s responsible for making you believe you need to adopt a kitten in the first place.
I think he might be on to something.
My first experience with the Kitten Distribution System was when I was in Fourth grade. My brother and I were walking home from school. We heard a meow and looked up to see an adorable gray kitten in a tree. My brother rescued the kitten and brought it home.
We hid it in the basement, waiting for the right time to tell our parents what we’d done. The kitten pre-empted our plans by walking across the kitchen floor as we ate dinner. We learned years later that our folks knew all along and were okay with the new edition to the family.
However, they did make us go around the neighborhood to ask people if they lost a kitten. We only went to the neighbors we knew didn’t have a cat. Also, the Kitten Distribution System at work.
We named the kitten, Dusty. He lived to be a grumpy but lovable old man.
My second encounter with the Kitten Distribution System was many years later. The KDS was hard at work one snowy Christmas Day when I was visiting my parents — who knew KDS worked holidays.
Anyway, a little fluffy kitten dashed in between my brother’s legs to get inside the house and escape the cold outside. We welcomed her with a bowl of water and some tuna. She made the rounds, snuggling each of us until she settled on me as her companion. We named her Nicky and she lived to be sixteen years old.
The KDS found me a year after I adopted Nicky. I had moved to Memphis earlier that year. Much like Santa Claus when I was younger, the KDS found me at my new address.
I was on my way to the apartment complex’s laundry room and some clothes were falling out of my very full laundry basket. When I stopped to rearrange everything, a fluffy gray kitten jumped into my basket.
Somehow, KDS knew that Nicky needed a friend to keep her occupied while I was at work. I welcomed the kitten into my home and named him, Murphy. He lived a long life with Nicky by his side.
I think cats, and many other animals for that matter, have the ability to discern who and where good people are, especially in times of crisis. Social media is full of stories of dolphins and whales approaching divers to untangle them from fishing lines. Maybe that’s a broader example of the KDS.
I’ve always believed that cats and kittens choose their humans.
I think the KDS nicely bears out this theory.
When I was looking to adopt a kitten after the death of my fluffy black cat Bailey, I perused several cat rescue websites and found a cat that I was interested in meeting. She was being housed at a local Petco.
When I got there, I found that kitten wrapped around another kitten — her littermate. They were fast asleep. I was instantly smitten with both kittens. The cuteness factor was off the charts.
There was no way I could separate those two kittens so I adopted both of them. For the record, they haven’t napped like that since that day. It was a total sales job.
The KDS was working overtime that day.
Takeaways:
If a cute little kitten crosses your path and seems to attach itself to you, just know that’s the Kitten Distribution System at work. The powers that be have decided you are a worthy human.
That worthiness has earned you a kitten.
Congratulations.
It’s up to you to give the kitten a good life. You won’t regret it.
That kitten could change your life too.