FW: Mama and Kittens

-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Seamen
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 3:48 PM
To: Ruth Foster (ruth.foster@gmail.com)
Subject: Mama and Kittens

I have received several complaints about an abandoned house with an overgrown lawn, broken fence, etc. in one of the Homeowners Associations I manage, in Weatherford, TX. When I went to the door of the abandoned house yesterday, I heard a tiny little “meow.” I looked down and saw a little kitten, then another little kitten. They were about the size of mice. Then Mama Cat came up to me and looked at me like, “Please, I need help.” Mama was skin and bones, but had a beautiful coat. A few more kittens emerged from the overgrown shrub bed and a couple sat on my shoes to get off the cold concrete. They all had beautiful coats, but they were all so weak they could barely walk, yet they would not let me leave! 

They followed whatever direction I went. When I went to my car they surrounded it, but I could not tell where they all were or if I would crush any if I drove off.

I called Animal Control, and they said an officer would call me back. He did, two hours later. I could not leave these little waifs, and I knew they had spent the last several nights in the rain and wind.

I called out to a neighbor and she gave me a cardboard box to put the kittens in – there were now six of them – for transportation. I first stopped at Wal-Mart and bought 3 cans of cat food (I don’t usually like cats that much, and the smell of cat food is awful to me). I laid some paper towels on the back floorboard and put an open can on top for Mama.  Then I opened another can and put into the box. Only about 3 of the 6 were ready for solid food, so some were still hungry; but I knew they weren’t going to get anything out of skinny ole Mama!

Where else could I take them, but to my wife’s office, 35 miles away? Picture me driving 65 miles per hour on I-20, trying to keep six kittens from climbing out of a box with no lid! I finally took my windbreaker and placed it over the box, tucking it in between the box and the front seat back. They still got out!

As I navigated the I-30 and I-20 split heading into Fort Worth, I felt something against my leg. I looked down and Mama was between my feet with her head under my brake, nursing one of her young. I turned off the cruise control (I could not hit the brake without crushing Mama’s head) and proceeded to wait for opportunities to change lanes twice and make it onto the shoulder of the freeway. At the last critical moment, I used my left foot to move Mama’s head so I could apply the brake for a full stop.  After turning off the engine I got out of the drivers seat and reached for Mama. By this time she had three kittens attached to her!

After returning the escapees to the box and laying my windbreaker over the top of it again, I decided I would have to drive with my left arm and use my right to hold the windbreaker tightly on top of the box. There were some sad sounds coming from the box, as none of them could see Mama Cat. I kept reassuring them that we only had so far to go before I delivered them to “the land of milk and honey,” but they just complained louder.

Somehow, we managed to reach Boca Club, where Kim works. One of the residents at the condominiums she manages is a Veterinary Technician, who inspected Mama Cat and found her to be OK, just hungry. All the kittens were OK, too, except the white “runt” of the litter. His eyes were not fully opened because of some organic matter that was keeping his eyelids stuck together. She rinsed out his yes and he was fine. Four of the kittens are girls, only two are boys. The kittens may not be even two weeks old, yet. Within an hour Nurse Kim had provide them an automatic dry-food feeder (for Mama Cat), a water bowl, a litter box, a plastic tub with linens lining the bottom for their “hotel room,” and some kitty toys to play with.

I can’t fully express how proud I am of Mama Cat. She did a terrific job under extremely tough circumstances and was way too loveable for me to look at her in that overgrown yard and say “Sorry, Kid, can’t help you.” The Vet Tech says Mama is only about 8 or 9 months old, so this is her first litter. What a Trooper. In fact, I would name her “Trooper,” but she has already earned the superior title of “Mama Cat.”

Charles