On Monday October 22, 2007 I was standing on my porch when I heard a kitten cry. It sounded close by. I looked around the porch, nothing. Then I started walking around the house. Huddled in the corner of against the house wall was a small, fluffy grey kitten. There were stray cats living under my house, feral. I assumed it came from them. I went inside and got a towel to capture the kitten in.
Usually at this point they panic. This one didn't. I dropped the towel on it, scooped it up, and took it inside. I grabbed the flea killer first thing. Not only did I not want fleas in the house but in small kittens like this too many fleas can be dangerous to the kitten. Since I have my own cats I also needed to protect them from contagious disease, so I set the kitten up in my bathtub. I put a towel down in the tub. And I found a small cardboard box for the kitten to crawl into and feel secure. Then I went to the pet supply shop and bought some canned food and kitten milk replacer.
I gave the kitten a bath. Ick the water was ugly with all the bloody flea dirt. But the flea killer seems to have done its job. I didn't spot any live fleas. I got it dry and warm then fed it its first meal of kitten milk replacer. It was hungry. I let it rest.
On my next visit I let Freeway come in and take a look. He was fascinated. Tsuki, my older dog yawned "Another kitten, been there, done that." But Freeway was obsessed. Each time I went in to care for the kitten, Freeway had to come. The kitten, for its part, quickly grew to accept that big dog nose poking over the edge of the tub.
For the first day the kitten spent most of its time hiding in its box. At feeding time I had to tip it out of the box. But after about 24 hours it was popping out the box on its own, ready for the next meal. By Wednesday it was sleeping in the open. I took the kitten to the vet to screen it for feline leukemia (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) because it is contagious and a risk to the other cats. Kitten passed the health check and on Friday I got the word that kitten was clear for FeLV and FIV. So I let the kitten on the floor and let Freeway get even better acquainted.
I thought it was interesting how Freeway knew to be gentle. And when the kitten played the kitten game of grab the dog's nose, Freeway just let it. So I took them out on the porch for some pictures and video.
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| Hi | Oooh Kitten sniffing | Nose to Nose | Chin squishing the kitten | Apparently the kitten doesn't mind |
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| Is there a crumb to be found here? | This dog is getting boring. | Watch out doggie I'm gonna get'chya | Yeah I'm an attack kitty, aren't you impressed? | Click the picture and check out my video |
The kitten was maybe 4 or 5 weeks old. It should have come from the feral cats that hang out in the neighborhood but it is awfully friendly for that, so maybe someone dumped it. The Feline Leukemia/FIV results were negative this kitten making it suitable for a multi-cat home. It met my dogs with curiosity. It was female, longhaired, grey, bold and saucy. She was easy to handle and very social.but not a cry baby.
I already have my share of cats. So I looked for a home for this one. And I found one. It looks to be a great home, with a dog for her. Adoption required a donation to a cat rescue organization such as http://www.hopalong.org/, or a feral cat group such as, http://www.alleycat.org/.
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Copyright © 2007, Diane Blackman Created:October 26, 2007 Updated November 12, 2007
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