By Kay & Shadow Luckett
If you ask Summer Alston what comes first—cats or love—there may not be a definitive reply. It appears that they could be one and the same.
Now a resident of Santa Fe, Summer was raised in Houston with dogs. She got her first cat over 30 years ago. With a master’s degree in social work, Summer’s open and friendly personality encompasses both empathy and compassion. This gets her top grades for dealing with both fur babies and human people.
Summer’s dad was a psychiatrist, and perhaps that type of family background encouraged her career choice. She worked as a mental health professional/probation officer in San Francisco and Northern California until her retirement. She describes working with and caring for the mentally ill offenders by saying, “But for the Grace of God, there go I”.
After reading Animal Liberation by Peter Singer, her heart opened. She realized that because she loved all animals, her current Vegan lifestyle would be forever. She has a talent for veggie stir-fries, and her food plan is in keeping with her spiritual practices.
Summer started volunteering with Persian cat rescues and ended up with two full-grown Himalayan littermates named Hanna and Scout. Happy and sad, as these stories go, Hanna died of a stroke in Summer’s laundry basket while Scout lived a full life until old age.
Northern California became too expensive and too congested for this animal lover, so off to New Mexico she moved. She continues to enjoy the open spaces, majestic mountains, and her many like-minded pals.
A few years ago, after her aged soul-kitty Noah crossed the Rainbow Bridge, Summer says, “I can mourn and cry for a year and then get a cat, or I can just get a cat”.
She ended up getting many cats when she started fostering for Felines & Friends, a non-profit in San Francisco, and explains that the reason she volunteered was simply because they needed fosters. She has participated in many massive rescues with various humane societies in the United States.
Her first foster was a tabby named Jack who was “the best cat ever.” After spending six weeks under the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, he suddenly blossomed and was ready for the next phase of his cat life.
Jack went to a loving home, and Summer will always refer to his “under-sink apartment” as his first abode. Many cats were lucky to be fostered in Summer’s own abode. She remembers all their names, talking about each as if, one-by-one, they left pawprints on her heart.
Incorporating her vast feline experience, Summer talked about two precious babies named Peaches and Chapman. These she describes as very tough on the spirit because they were both hospice fosters. Summer loved Peaches and described her as a special being who was a tiny girl before she passed peacefully. That was what she loved so much about these hospice babies: they were “vulnerable and sweet”.
Chapman was a full-time job—a medical foster with active kidney disease that Summer and the vets helped with IV fluid treatments. Even though his life was enhanced and prolonged, after nine months, he finally declined. When asked her opinion of these treatments, she agreed with the vets that they do help quite a bit even though sadly there is an end.
Although it was Summer’s joy and privilege to do this, this was the end for her participating in what her friend described as “stressful fostering” while suggesting that she adopt cats of her own. That’s exactly what Summer is working on at this very moment.
Summer says she wanted a bonded pair and ended up with two males, Bandit and Stash. Bonded, yes, but as it turned out they were trauma bonded after having been rescued together. And just like misbehaving children, these boys didn’t fare well and had to be separated.
Stash was a big mellow boy who did not like being teased and tormented by brother Bandit. After a huge fight, Felines and Friends re-homed Stash to a single-cat home and the word is that he’s now doing well. Bandit is enjoying being the spoiled single cat… for now.
Summer is working to adopt a sister for Bandit. She hopes to find a gal who has good boundaries and won’t take crap from him. And that beyond just tolerating, they will be able to be affectionate and playful together in an already tranquil home.
In the meantime, Summer loves the things that Bandit teaches her: to be in the moment, to be joyful, and—like Bandit who easily asks for what he wants—to be content with what is. This is the Summer of love, right here, right now.
When asked for her final words, Summer says, “Fostering is wonderful. Doing hospice is incredible. But adopting is everything”.
Meow.
