Monthly Archives: April 2010

How I ended up with a day-old kitten

I walked Ginny at 6 am today and we did our normal route round our place – down the sidewalk to the front yard, around the back, then into the house.  The kids were about to get up and we started our mad-morning routine getting ready for another day of school.  Kids were fed, teeth were brushed and lunches were packed…and out the door we lit at 7:10 am.  As we headed down the same sidewalk Ginny and I had walked, we came upon a wet, slimy looking pile of…fur.  Or at least I thought it was fur.  Anyhow, I figured a rat had given birth or something.  I decided I’d just pick it up and bury it.  I bent down to have a closer look and discovered it was a kitten…and it was alive…sort of.  I picked it up and ran in to get a box.  We put it in the  box and jumped into the car hoping the heater would warm the poor little wet thing.

Sure enough, as Isaac held it on his lap, is started to move a little more.  It really didn’t move by normal definitions but it did meow like crazy.  I didn’t think for a second that it would survive another 30 minutes but we headed to the vet to see what they said.  I had planned to leave it with them and let them “take care of things”…and the kids would know that the vet had done everything they could.  Right in front of the kids and the cat and everyone, they basically told us it would not end well and that they wouldn’t try.  Gee whiz, now the kids knew what would happen and they were having no part in that.  “Please Dad, can we try to save it?”  I asked the vet for some milk replacer figuring it would be a nice (read cheap) gesture.  I promised the kids I would do everything I could to save the poor little kitten.

I dropped the kids at school and proceeded to work with my tiny box of kitten.  It meowed and cried and gave it all it could.  I got to work and one of my co-workers helped me clean it up, cut the umbilical cord (yes, it was still attached!), and start feeding.  I still didn’t think it had much of  chance, but as the day went on, this little thing has perked up and squalls and crawls and bawls constantly!  I am amazed at this little critter and think it may have a chance.  We’ll feed it every 2 hours and watch as this little thing shows us what it is made of…