Friday, September 25, 2009

JUST WHEN I THINK I'M FINISHED.....

Chapter One

I haven't yet found homes for Kelly's kittens but today I find myself with another litter in need. Spouse had gone to help a neighbor and when he returned, he came inside and called up the stairs, "Grab some towels and come down here". I had a very bad feeling about that. The only time we grab towels and run downstairs is when we have a flood due to a leaking water heater.
Spouse said, "Someone left you a present outside". I'd had enough suspense and asked if it was bad....as in an animal having been hit on the road or something. He said it wasn't bad so I went on down. There in our front yard, in the cold damp grass, lay three newborn kittens, all tangled up in the remnants of their unbilical cords, grass, and mud. We didn't know how long they'd been there nor where the mother cat went. The kittens were very cool to the touch and we knew time was of the essence. Hypothermia takes more kittens lives than anything else.
From the gray and white coloring of the kittens, I highly suspected they belonged to a feral cat I'd be-friended and named Dixie. She won't allow me to touch her but comes here to eat each day. She's looked pregnant for quite awhile, but she'd fooled me twice so I thought she'd simply just put on weight again. She seems to do that in the fall.
We looked around for more kittens and found none. We gathered the little orphans into a towel and brought them inside. I had a bright idea about seeing if Kelly might accept the newborns as her own, but that turned out to not be such a good idea. Kelly spewed and hissed and growled. I gave her some time in the bathroom with just she and I, and the kittens. She hissed and carried on the whole time. I put the kittens inside the towel-lined bathtub thinking Kelly might have some recollection of nursing her own kittens there. When she took a swipe at the newborns, I decided the experiment was over. Getting Kelly inside a carrier and downstairs to her sanctuary was interesting, to say the least. She's scheduled to be spayed tomorrow morning and I thought I might have to cancel that appointment, but now I'm fairly sure she won't accept the kittens so the appointment will stand. I can't fault her for not wanting to care for another cat's kittens. She's weaned her own and has earned a break.
So my bathroom sink is now towel-lined and full of newborn kittens. They'll be warmer there than in the bathtub. We have a heater on the counter for them and I've started bottle-feeding and doing the things mama cat would be doing.
In the midst of this latest kitten crisis, our daughter called and wanted to stop in and see us. That was a welcome surprise. She and her hubby work long hours and we don't get to see them much any more. I told her what was going on here and she volunteered to stop and get replacement milk for the kittens and lunch for all of us. How nice was that? I was pre-occupied with feeding the kittens while she was here.....sorry Daughter......but I do thank her for being so understanding and caring. When she saw our menagerie running around, she said we didn't even need to turn on a TV since we had instant entertainment. She was right. There is never a dull moment here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

those kittens are very lucky that you found them.....hope things go good and can't wait to see some pics.

Karen said...

BRAVO...to you and your husband for being so loving in caring to all these needy cats and kittens in your neighborhood. You are definitely SAINTS in the eye of the beholder.
I wish you and the babies well during this fragile time and look forward to seeing pictures and watching them grow. And to give your daughter credit too, that was so nice of her to bring the kitty milk and to feed you as well. I'm glad to hear you have some extra support nearby.

Cat Nap Inn Primitives said...

Oh My goodness Kady they are too precious!!! and they have a wonderful mama!!! you...they are in great hands..I can't wait to hear how they are doing these next couple of days..they will be in my prayers tonight...:)