I've not posted as much this week as Lambeth deserves, due largely to the fact that my life has recently been commandeered by an unexpected kitten. A wild cat gave birth to three kittens outside my window Monday evening and by Tuesday afternoon had disappeared along with 2 of the 3. (Whether she abandoned them and 2 were eaten and wandered off, or if she simply took 2 somewhere else and left the third, I don't know.)
At any rate, though far from being an animal rights wacko, I'm not the kind of person who can sit and listen to a newborn kitten shriek and squirm and die of cold, hunger and neglect outside my window -- so the kitten is now in a box, warmed by a brand new heating pad, with a stuffed rabbit as surrogate mommy to cuddle with... and I'm spending about 30-45 minutes every 3 hours, around the clock, in bottle feeding sessions. Cost to date (for supplies, vet bill, etc) -- about $125. Plus my sanity. And it's only 4 days old. I'm told there's a light at the end of the tunnel... kittens stop nursing after about 8 weeks.
I'm resisting the urge to name it (though I'm tempted by "Possibly Schroedinger") because then I'll have yet another cat.
At any rate, though far from being an animal rights wacko, I'm not the kind of person who can sit and listen to a newborn kitten shriek and squirm and die of cold, hunger and neglect outside my window -- so the kitten is now in a box, warmed by a brand new heating pad, with a stuffed rabbit as surrogate mommy to cuddle with... and I'm spending about 30-45 minutes every 3 hours, around the clock, in bottle feeding sessions. Cost to date (for supplies, vet bill, etc) -- about $125. Plus my sanity. And it's only 4 days old. I'm told there's a light at the end of the tunnel... kittens stop nursing after about 8 weeks.
I'm resisting the urge to name it (though I'm tempted by "Possibly Schroedinger") because then I'll have yet another cat.
Kitten at 2 days old.
Kitten at 3 days old.
Kitten at 3 and a half days old.
How I now spend my life.
Every kitten needs somebunny to snuggle with.
4 comments:
LP-
You are just a softy at heart. Why not come out and admit it???
I wonder if there is a correlation between actually caring for animals and being orthodox???
LP, shouldn't you name it "Anglikitten"? (Although you'll have to change it when it's grown, and I'm not sure that Anglicat would approve of your appropriating her name.) Why "Anglikitten"? Because -
a) It came to you unbidden, mewling in the night;
b) It is blind to the world around it; and
c) It needs its mother.
I'm putting off coming up with any name until it makes it through at least 2 weeks -- always the most critical period for a newborn kitten, especially one abandoned as early as this one was. (It had 18 hrs, max, of mother's milk... kittens who get less than 2 days of such milk are at a much higher risk of complications and death).
As I noted in the update, it doesn't seem to be doing well tonight; I just got off the phone with the emergency vet who said I'm doing everything right and it may just be the "pot shot" at this point as to whether or not it survives. Often a mother cat can tell if a kitten is sickly and will abandon it for that reason.
Hopefully I won't have to put up a kitten RIP in the next few days... but I'm worried...
Beautiful work, LP!! So you already have a cat or more? All the more credit to you! Keep it up, and the rest is up to God - just remember, He Made the animals before He Made Mankind (and apparently still more so before He Created Adam!). You'll be blessed consequently as caring for "the least of these", regardless of whether the little animal survives or not...
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