The Care Center where I work used to have tons of animals running around. Kittens have been born left and right in the field behind the building and we even had a dog for a short while. Sadly, the dog had to be re-homed since a couple of our residents were inappropriate with it. (The story behind that simple sentence would be a zinger of a blog entry, however I am trying to stay PG-13 or better as much as possible!!) There haven’t been many kitties running around lately either.
At least until this week.
Tuesday morning started out like any other. I arrived at work around 10:00 and prepared to do my training and paperwork. Part way through the afternoon a maintenance staff came into my office and asked me if I had any cat food.
Cat food??? !!!
Apparently, a mother cat had decided that the care center’s filthy, cluttered junk storage area was the perfect place to raise a litter of kittens. Beautiful, sweet-faced, longhaired kittens. Skittish, fearful, wild kittens!! Since I didn’t happen to have a stash of cat food in my desk (Why, oh WHY would I have a stash of cat food in my desk??) I ran over to the local grocery store and picked up a bag of Purina One. When I got back someone showed me the area where the kittens had last been spotted. I put some food in a bowl and set it down on the ground near a water dish. I stood there quietly for a few seconds and then made some kissy, meowing sounds. Seconds later a small white kitten peeked out from beneath a pile of old boards and wheelchair parts. SO CUTE! The white one was followed by a couple of grays and a black/tan blend. It was hard to tell their true colors since they were all covered with dust and grime. Of course they didn’t let us near them and a few of them hissed when some of my co-workers put their hands down near their space. I admired them for a few minutes and then returned to my desk.
DH called me a short while later and in the midst of our conversation I mentioned the kittens. Oh, bring one home with you!, he said. Enough gushing about animals has been done on this blog to convey that we have a full house here at the Haven. With the addition of Gus, we had, what we thought was a complete crew. No More Pets, I told my DH. Again, he said Oh, just bring one home with you. We need one more kitty! I jokingly told him that I’d go out to the storage area and if a kitten happened to jump into my lap I’d bring it home with me. I hung up the phone, wrapped up some paperwork and went out to the storage area one last time. There, sleeping on the ground in a huge pile were the kittens. It looked like there were four of them. As I approached, they heard me and scattered like farts in the wind. All except for one.
There, sitting on the ground looking a little lost as to where her littermates had gone, was a small gray and brown baby. I stood there in disbelief that she wasn’t running away and for a moment we just stared at each other. Then I reached down and scooped her up.
For the first few seconds I wasn’t sure what to expect. A co-worker had caught the white kitten earlier that day and it had tried to take a piece of her face off, it was so scared. When a few seconds passed with no major drama, I carried her over to the lawn and knelt down on the ground with her. A light breeze was blowing and after a few seconds she crawled up into my lap and snuggled herself into the folds of the hoodie I was wearing. I called DH again from my cell phone and told him what had happened and he again told me to bring it home! Being the softy that I am, I finally gave in with the stern warning that this was the LAST addition to our zoo.
AND I REALLY MEAN IT THIS TIME!!
The kitty was filthy and the ease with which I caught her had me slightly worried that she might be ill in some way. She was a tad smaller than the other kittens as well which added to my concerns. I placed her in a box and headed towards the pet store near my home to meet up with DH. The introductions in the parking lot were a Kodak moment. DH fell in love the moment he saw her. At the time we weren’t sure if it was a “her” or not but we suspected as much. We picked up some KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement formula) as well as a bottle and a few cans of wet kitten food. We also purchased shampoo foam. The kind that you rub in and wipe away with a cloth; no water required. Then we headed home.
It took three foam scrubs before the black stopped coming off of her and it was a chore keeping her away from our other pets. Ya never know what kind of bugs she might have had, ya know? She took to the bottle faster than I expected she would, which was pleasing. DH acted like a little mother as he fluttered around the house looking for a soft towel for her bed and making sure we had a heating pad handy to keep her warm. To be honest, I didn’t let myself get too attached the first night since I wasn’t sure that she was healthy and I wanted to avoid heart-break if she didn’t survive long.
Wednesday morning was my early day at work so I was in the car and on my way by 7:00. The vet office at the pet store opened at 9:00 and DH was waiting at the doors as they unlocked them. After a quick check-up they announced that she was, indeed, a she and that she was in good health. They gave her a dose of worm medicine for precautionary measures and said that we were feeding her the appropriate amounts of the correct food. It was a relief to know that she was doing A-Okay. DH brought her over to the care center to visit when he was done at the vet’s office. Everyone “ooohed and aaahhed” over her and said how lucky she was to have us, which was a comfort to me since I was thinking we might just be crazy to add another pet to the mix. After much debate and pondering, DH named her Fluffy. I suspect he chose that name to please me since I had a cat with that name when I was a child. It fits her though and that makes me happy.
Fluffy has adjusted amazingly well in the two days that we’ve had her. She loves her bottle and is even eating some of the wet kitten food as well. Gus and Shelly are sweet with her and she follows them around when she’s on the floor. We have to monitor Gus a tad since he’s full of puppy energy and we don’t want him to sit on her. Chloe, the Weiner, is the most enthusiastic about the kitten, however I’m not sure if she wants to get her paws on her for a bath of kisses or if she plans to have a snack so we’ve kept her at a distance. The two cats, Gizmo and Basil, are still coping with the idea of a newcomer. Gizmo hisses and runs when he sees her and Basil just avoids getting too close since he doesn’t know what the heck is going on with her. I’m sure they’ll all be sleeping in a fur pile in no time.
In any case, she’s settling in and doesn’t show any signs of being wild. It’s nice to know that she’s not ill and that her docile attitude when I found her was due to her sweet disposition and not a medical issue.
Ms.B
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