Kitten Season Rolls in on a Nor'easter
Kitten season has begun alongside Nor’easters and a First Day of Spring that looked more like a White Christmas. When you have Rescue in your Life Purpose your personal life can take the back burner because newborns and orphan’s lives are at stake and Priorities are constantly being rearranged according to Need. This was the case on Friday, a day I had planned to sip tea and knit a shawl using a luscious yarn that my fingers were itching to get into. Saturday and Sunday are days set aside for visiting my mom in the nursing home. She has dementia and really needs the one on one and stimulation of a visit focused on her comfort and care.
BUT, Life Throws Me a New Curve
I woke up to a text message about a sick cat – and kittens in someone’s garage. I took my two traps and saw that the sick cat seemed ok and only 5 of the 6 kittens were still alive. Mom cat took off when I arrived and 45 minutes later had not returned.
The kittens needed warmth and milk and time was critical. I would have to trap mom later and if necessary bottle feed the babies. They looked healthy. I ended up bottle feeding them through the night. They initially would not drink and needed a lot of stimulation to get them to accept and get comfortable with the bottle and the artificial nipple – definitely not like mom’s!
Saturday morning I went down to check for mom cat and saw the sick cat. Up close the cat looked very sick. The cat seemed unable to walk easily. I went back home for the trap knowing that this had to be addressed. The streams of thoughts and feelings that went through my head were:
Man I don't want to do this (Comfort Zone do I have to say goodbye?
When you see something, say something
The cavalry is not coming
If it’s going to be, it’s up to me
You know it has to be done – just do it
How would you like to be in this situation
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do Nothing
When I returned the cat was in the back of the house and lying in a patch of sunlight. The cat was lying on its side and there appeared to be a bloody mass on its back side just under the rectum. I started to feel a Freak On, like I arrived at a scene of an accident and realized there was more than met the eye – and there was.
Another person with keener eyes told me that there was a newborn baby and that the cat was still attached to it. WHAT! I trapped here last year and was told this was a Male cat! The cat was so weak I was able to put a crate over her so that I could move her into the trap.
That worked out well, meanwhile, like a person trapped under a car, the kitten was crying and mom cat was starting to panic.
What can I do? How do I proceed? What resources are available? Can anyone help me? Breath Josie, if you lose it you accomplish nothing.
I called various Animal Rescue Agencies and Hospitals and none was able to help. Bottom line: I would have to take the cat to the Emergency Room. Off the top of my head I knew that this was a fee of Minimum $600. Nearby vets did not have an open slot to bring the cat in and their fees were about the same.
This is what it feels like when you have a life threatening emergency and no resources. I knew I would have to make decisions fast and hard and that I would have to just do my best and trust myself. Anyone second guessing me later was not here, at this moment, to make the decision or provide the resources that were needed.
Once in the trap I saw that the kitten seemed dead and I became angry. I put my hand in to get the kitten not caring if mom cat bit me. She scuttled to the back of the trap and as I leaned in to reach the kitten she ran past me and into the garage. I started barking orders laced with desperation and frustration: “Lock the garage door!”
“Can she get out? No? Good.” Let her have the rest of the babies in there (inside the garage there are two heated shelters). This is actually good because she can finish giving birth in a safe place. “Do not open that door for the next 8 hours! And don’t put food out at all until I trap the mother cat for the first litter.”
Oh God, the kitten is dead.
No dammit! Cats frozen to the sidewalk have been revived and I’m not going to let this kitten be a Victim to my lack of determination! I will try my best.
I picked up the cold little newborn and became so fed up with the utter unfairness of everything that I heard myself barking out commands: (don’t just stand there) “get me a towel.” Although I later apologized to the homeowner I felt shame over my intense reactions and yet realized that I could trust my response to be accurate and productive.
This is the only benefit of being a rescuer that I acknowledge: You will Learn, You will grow and you will learn about your strengths. I realize that everyone is doing their best based on their current level of awareness and this moment is practice of that insight.
I massaged the kitten furiously and it began to move. I told the homeowner I needed to use her sink to put the very cold kitten under warm water. She complied. The kitten began mewling.
Are we able to breathe yet? Can we stop for a moment? No, not unless you like the script where you say, “it died anyway.”
The kitten needed milk. I gave it KMR from a syringe one drop at a time every 5 minutes. We got the KMR when we got the first litter of kittens. We were smart, we got the large jar of powder for the sake of economy.
The kitten began to show signs of a return of life. Good. I continued for another 3-4 hours using the elements of warmth; stimulation and drops of milk until the kitten actively drank half a syringe full.
I received a text message: A cat has been trapped. We think it’s the mother
I look at the cat. I only saw her once briefly but I know that this is not the mother
I realize that this cat is not spayed. It is totally counter-productive to put her back out without doing the TNR. I need an extra cage for her. I need to make a clinic appointment. Shit! Why is she panting? Is she going to give birth too?!
Now the Mind kicks in and starts assaulting my Soul:
“What if she’s been hanging around because she has kittens in the garage? They would be dead now.”
“I checked the remaining shelters – they were empty.”
“Did you look inside the shelter in the far corner?”
“Shit. I was distracted. Did I?”
“oh, by the way, the Newborn Miracle is not out of the woods yet.”
Finally, I tell my Mind: “You need to be quiet, you are not being helpful.”
Saturday
Today I feel that the Newborn Miracle is going to survive. The kitten has a great appetite and great lungs! I named this kitten Jude. It can be a male or female name – it’s a good name for a Miracle Kitten.
Today, I must work quickly to put a trap into the garage so that the B&W mom cat will go in.
I must use bait that will entice her.
I must somehow check the trap every 45 minutes so that if she goes in the kittens won’t be without her for too long.
I must continue trying to get the original mom cat for the 5 kittens.
Someone put milk out despite being told not to put food out. I would walk away from this if it weren’t for the extreme need the cats have for help.
All I see are my shortcomings and what I could have done to be more efficient and productive. I have no sympathy for the person who feeds the cats, doesn’t do the TNR and lets the situation become ugly and then has to be told the simplest things – like get a towel for a cold, wet newborn. I realize I am blaming and criticizing Everyone – including me.
The dead kitten is still in a plastic bag in a corner of the yard. “when the ground becomes soft enough the kitten will be buried.” Dear god!
It comforts the Mind to have a plan. The plan is to
Trap the first litter’s mom (this relieves me of bottle feeding them) and mom cat can be spayed when they’re off her nipples
Trap the B&W and her kittens
Make a clinic appointment for the surprise trapped cat who is not the mother
Take the B&W cat to the vet on Sunday?
Take the dead kitten to be cremated on Sunday
Raise money for the vet; cremation and ongoing needs of the trapped cats & kittens
It’s funny how the Universe supports you and you don’t realize it.
A few months ago I received washcloths as a donation. I didn’t need them but put them away for “later.” Later is now, I needed them to stimulate the kittens and clean them up.
A few years ago, I bought a suede and fur coat for a cat and when the cat was adopted I put the coat away and forgot about it. Today, I needed it for Jude, the Newborn Miracle so that it would mimic her mother’s fur and allow for snuggling and warmth.
These are the little things that open your mind, nurture your soul and remind you that everything is evolving as it’s supposed to and you are exactly where you are supposed to be at this time. All of my experience is being used in this situation and it still challenges me to learn and grow. I am in the mood for some ice cream about now. So now you know, Ice Cream makes everything better for me.
