I thought the girls might like to hear a story about how I ended up with another kitten~
There are a lot of homeless cats living outside. They have kittens in the spring and fall, sometimes it is late fall and by the time the kittens are old enough to venture out on their own the temperatures will be below freezing and often, there is snow on the ground. To be able to raise fall kittens is a testament to the devotion of cats being good mothers. Sadly, when cats are faced with survival out in the elements the kittens are on their own much earlier than those who live in houses. Many will not make it.
This is the story of a kitten that found a way to beat the odds even though he is terrified of humans which is very sad as we are the ones that could help him. After all, who can resist a sweet baby kitten?
Left in a taped cardboard box with their 4 sisters last August on my porch.
Tommie and Katen were abandoned late last August. With 3 German Shepherds and one Collie dog in the house – unused to cats – there was little choice, I put up an extra large dog crate on the porch with a second large crate attached. The crate was also used to protect them from all the dogs in the neighbourhood who tend to be on the loose.
Katen, Tommie and their sisters lived in the dog crate on the porch until it was too cold for them to be outside even with a outdoor pet heating pad to keep them warm. Tommie was a love bug from the start but Katen who had known some nasty humans took a long time to teach him that some humans were ok. I was absolutely, delighted the first time he started to purr. At first, Katen’s purr sputtered, stopped and then would continue like an old lawnmower but as he became tame the purr improved. Now, he sounds like jet engine, smooth, loud and not afraid.
When temperatures dropped below freezing we decided Tommie and Katen should come into the house but downstairs in the basement, away from the dogs. By this time their sisters had been adopted or where living with foster Moms. We were very upset as we realized that the dogs were determined to get into the basement. Got another big crate and set them up down there.
Something was wrong, is nagged at me to think these poor kitties were warm but unhappily, trapped in the basement. When I spotted the “pet door”, I had a wonderful idea!. Ah Ha! I thought, we’ll put this in the basement window and put up a kitty fence surrounding the flower beds outside and the kitties can go in and out as they please. OH, they will so Love that. Boy oh Boy! Silly me! You can likely tell I have not had many cats. Cats can Climb! 2 days later they are out and about anywhere they darn well please coming back in to get warm and have their meals.
http://youtu.be/EFzqZfXoYFc
http://youtu.be/SHsNnH9yTsg
Every night I go down before bed and have playtime with Tommie & Kitten. They are ready to move on to their forever home. They deserve a house and soft pillows and sofas to lie on.
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. It 2 am and I go to the basement to say goodnight to Katen and Tommie. NO Katen and NO Tommie. Maybe they are out and about. I am use to them not being home when I drop in to see them but they usually come running in looking for their attention and bedtime snack. Katen had taken a big step the night before as he choose to come and sit on my lap for a snuggle. I thought, You have come a long ways, baby! I was so proud of Katen, he was very brave to finally hand over his trust completely to a human. Where was he to-night?
Out of the corner of my eye I see a tiny bit of movement, inside their hidey box. This is what I found – a very little scared half to death kitten.
The question is, How the heck did the kitten get in here! There is only one way.
Where the heck is Tommie and Katen?
If there is one wee kitten … are there more? The wee kitten won’t let me near him. He seems to be a baby feral kitten.
It is minus 1, going to minus 7 and starting to snow. Got all the the winter gear on and armed with a flashlight and clothes hamper. I am out to find them and bring them home. After leaving the kitten some soft food and cat milk outside I go, shaking my head in disbelief. How did that kitten get in?
Came home empty handed worrying about the missing Tommie and Katen went to check on the kitten. !!! He is gone as well! I begin to think some one is playing tricks on me! This is crazy. Good thing, I took a picture or people would think I was a crazy cat lady! Back outside in the dark and cold to continue my search for all three of them plus see if I can find the wee one’s brothers and sisters.
At 6 am, I give up and go to bed and sleep for a few hours. Ready to begin the search again just before noon as didn’t have much hope of finding any of the kitties back in their house.
Just in case I thought, I should check. There they were! All three of them!
Tired Kitties and I think Tommie is the one that brought the kitten in. It seems really attached to him. Funny, Katen won’t let the kitten eat the hard food, he can drink the cat milk and the soft food but for some reason Katen gets really upset with the Kitten trying to eat hard food.
My concern is, there is never One Kitten. The kitten seems semi-feral but was really watching when Tommie and Katen were getting lots of attention and they were both trying to snuggled up with me. He/she stopped trying to run away and hide. I still can’t get near him so can’t do anything with him but then maybe Tommie and Katen know more about cat care then I do! We have a good chance of taming him with the good role models he has. Where did he come from, did he follow Tommie out of the gully? Did Tommie or Katen bring him to their house and leave him there all nice and warm, while they went back out to prowl. Another wild kitten story has begun with a most unusal beginning.
Did Katen and Toomie remember their time as feral cats and take pity on this little guy? I am not sure about that but I would like to think so.
