New Life

We let our dog out one morning, calling her inside when she started barking incessantly. When she wouldn't come, Chuck said she must be barking at something and went to investigate. He called me over to the side of the house, where Maggie had found a litter of four kittens that lay huddled on the ground. With their mother nowhere in sight, Chuck asked what we should do, and I suggested taking them inside.We realized they were feral kittens when he picked them up and the malnourished little rascals hissed and scratched as he put them in a dog carrier. Luckily, they were old enough for kitty kibble. We confined them to the bathroom as we considered what to do next.

I thought we should leave them with a rescue group until they could be adopted. My local humane society was unable to help unless they were spayed/neutered. They offered free surgeries when the kittens were at least eight weeks old. We thought they were about four weeks old, but learned they were probably a little older. Nevertheless, the earliest tentative appointment for surgery was over a month away.  I figured we would nurture them until they were old enough for surgery. As the days went by, their skinny little forms gained weight, and they became playful and started meowing instead of hissing, and didn't complain too much when petted or picked up.

After only a couple of weeks, we figured it was time to find them a new home because they seemed too confined in the bathroom and occasionally escaped.  Also, Maggie and Georgia, our Holland lop bunny, had become nervous and jittery, which made it difficult for us. I researched our local animal control and gave them a call when I learned that they have a no-kill contract with a veterinarian clinic. They picked up the kittens that same day.

It took me awhile to get used to the kittens' absence, and I felt guilty about letting them go. What if animal control had sent them to the vet to be euthanized? I called the vet anonymously and asked where kittens they put up for adoption could be seen. They said their kittens go to one of various rescue groups, who put them up for adoption. I felt much better after that.