My daughter was appalled to hear our neighbors planned to put week old abandoned kittens outside for the night just to see if mom would return. The thought of those tiny, starving, defenseless and motherless kittens spending any time outdoors in freezing temperatures made her absolutely livid, so she came home to figure out what resources were available. After picking up two friends she drove to our local pet shop to see if they could help. The owner said people often bring in baby bunnies but never abandoned kittens however she came up with a possible solution. Their in-store cat had a litter two months earlier and was still nursing. She suggested the girls bring in the babies and hopefully mom would accept them. They decided to test the water with just two in case momma cat rejected them.
It was about 6:30 at night and the kittens were back in the cold boat. Now the problem was how to take them without our neighbors noticing because it was still light out. They decided my daughter would act as a decoy while the other girls grabbed the kittens and ran. My kid knocked on their door armed with an article on her phone regarding the proper care of motherless kittens. As soon she was safely inside the house, she texted “O.K.” to her friends signaling the go ahead to move out and rescue the first two kittens.
While my daughter discussed kitten care the other girls each grabbed a baby, hightailed it to our house and texted "MISSION COMPLETE, :)". She finished the conversation and made her exit saying, "best of luck to you guys! I know the right thing will happen; smiled, turned around, walked out the door, went home, and jumped into the car where her friends were waiting. Then they all drove back to the pet shop praying momma cat would accept these precious orphans.
It looked like half of the town was in the pet shop when they arrived. In addition to several employees there were at least 5 or 6 other adults plus the owner’s daughters all waiting to see what was going to happen! The crowd followed the owner as she walked back to the cat room. Momma was sitting right smack dab in the middle of the room watching her children play! The owner turned, took the kittens and went into the room. She placed them on the bed where the others were nursed then brought momma over. The owner began to pet and reassure momma that it was going to be okay. As she told her these kittens needed a new mommy momma cat laid down, relaxed and let the babies begin to nurse. She even began to lick and clean them off! It seemed as though she really understood what the owner was telling her!
The owner got up, turned off the light and closed the door to leave momma alone to do her thing. Mission One was successful! The girls knew they now had to rescue the other four kittens and bring them back.
Back home my daughter dropped her friends off in our driveway and watched as they ran into the now dark night. When she was assured Mission Two was complete my kid drove to the corner and the girls hopped into the car. Then they all headed back to the pet shop to introduce the last four kittens to their new family. Mission Save the Kittens was a success!
In a fairy tail this would be the end of the story. Unfortunately after a few days it was obvious momma cat was tired. Good heavens she was still nursing three active two month olds and now was expected to raise six extra! The tiny babies needed more nourishment than she was able to provide. An employee from the pet shop was able to take the little ones home where family members helped bottle feed them 24/7. Four of the kittens thrived but two still weren’t gaining enough weight. So another staff member offered to take those little guys so they could get special hands on care. Unfortunately today I learned there is some concern about one kitten that’s been loosing weight. Hopefully he will survive but I shudder to think what would have happened to him and the others had they been left in the boat, waiting for mom to return.
