Life is made of .......: August 2009

Back in the winter we had a stray calico cat that suddenly appeared around the theater. It birthed about 4 or 5 little kittens among a pile of insulation that we had stacked inside. Unfortunately most of them didn't make it within the first few hours. But there was a solid black one that was moving around but the momma wouldn't let you get close to it. The next thing we knew they were gone and we didn't see her again.

Then about 3 weeks ago I saw what I thought was this same calico cat back at the theater. I kind of ran her off because I didn't want her getting inside for fear she might have another litter of kittens and we might not be able to find her very well.

Well a couple of days ago I was at the back of the theater turning on the lights so some people could look around. Then I could faintly hear a little kitten which sounded like it was under the floor area. (This particular part of the theater is a few feet off of the ground so you can easily get underneath it from the outside).

The sad thing is I discovered the momma cat in the backyard of the theater about 4 or 5 days before and it was not alive. Apparently some other animal had gotten to it. So when I was finished talking with those people I knew I had to go find that kitten because I was sure it hadn't eaten in at least those 4 or 5 days since its momma got killed.

I finally found her out in the dusty parking lot area. I got an old rag and wrapped her up and took her to the house.

Isn't she cute. She was only about 4-5" long.
Her eyes were already open.

Now while we do have two cats I did not want another one. Living out in the rural area we are all the time getting stray cats, especially since our cats have food outside. If I kept them all we would have waaaayyyy too many. (Ok, I admit I did name her Miss Kitty. But only so I didn't have to keep calling her "kitten". )

But I could not stand the thought of letting this little kitten just starve itself. We tried to feed it with a small syringe that we had. It didn't seem like it ate much though. Then a neighbor had a little bottle so we tried that too.

We continued with this every few hours. But I just didn't feel like she was getting enough.

Sunday morning I decided to go to our local Petco store and buy some milk supplement in hopes that she would do better.

(I also did not know that there was a reason for all that licking that a momma cat does to her kittens. That is until I read on the milk container that you are suppose to burp the kitten and rub its back (in lieu of the momma licking it) to help with it's digestive system. Nor did I know we were going to have to.....you know.....a.....stimulate it so it could use the bathroom.

I was rather proud of Lonny when he wet a rag and was just.....in a nurturing way.....without much thought.....going to do just that. (Then when it started working I almost rolled on the floor hysterically when he started to gag like he was going to throw up).

That was hilarious!

Anyway, after a few days and not feeling at all sure that we were accomplishing anything I called our local Humane Society and told them of our situation. They gladly offered to let me bring Miss Kitty to them.

I felt so much better knowing Miss Kitty was going to be in more capable hands. When we delivered her the lady told me they had a momma cat that might accept her. So they gathered her up and took her to the back. She returned with good news that the momma and Miss Kitty were taken with each other.

Yes....a happy ending! ......................and.............a learning experience!