Priscilla Ballou
August 28th 04, 11:06 PM
This afternoon my stupid neighbors caught a feral kitten whose mother
would probably have come back and gotten it if they'd left it alone.
After it was caught, who knows if she would? And then they didn't want
the kitten! One family said "no" to their daughter who wanted it for a
pet and the other has a daughter who's allergic, so guess who's taking
care of the kitten?
On the upside, this is the most friendly feral kitten imaginable, and,
yes, we're sure he's feral. It's a small street, and no-one has a cat
with kittens. We're estimating its age at about 6 weeks. Its eyes are
open and deep blue, it's got teeth barely coming in, and it laps up wet
food now that it knows it's food. I had to put some on my finger and
then smush it on his face before he got it and waded into the dish (yes,
two forepaws firmly in the goop) and slurped some up. He loves to be
held and petted, so all those instructions in how to socialize a feral
can be tossed right out the window.
The first chance my friend Melissa and I will have to get him to a vet
for a check-up -- and probably worming and anti-flea treatment -- is
Wednesday evening. For the time being he's in the big cat cage in my
guest room with a towel-lined box, a pillow-case covered hot water
bottle, a dish of food and one of water, a kitten-sized litter pan, and
a stuffed animal (fox). I'll sleep in there with him to keep him
company -- in the room, not in the cage! There are limits to my
suckerdom. ;-) I'm keeping my three cats out of the room.
He's black and white, more a leotard than a tuxedo, as I described him
to someone this afternoon. White paws, splotches on chest & tummy, and
one funny mark on his mouth. In the sun you can see the tiger markings
under the black. Too cute for words. He fits into one hand and has
tiny claws like needles. He very occasionally hisses but frequently
cries if he's not getting petted or otherwise having attention paid to
him. Melissa was petting him and found his "sweet spot" under his left
ear. She had him totally blissed out. Wierdest feral I've met, but
then he's very young.
He seems quite healthy -- not emaciated, nice round tummy even before
discovering wet kitty food -- curious, interested, playful. One eye is
watering just a little bit, and I want to keep an eye on that, but aside
from fleas he seems in very good shape. And we think he's a he.
So far names being tried on are Sprocket, Freckle, Spock (he has pointy
ears), and Sunshine Junior.
If all goes well, he will become a part of Melissa's family, but even if
it doesn't work out we are both determined he will be going to a good
home. Heck, he's already socialized! ;-)
Priscilla
would probably have come back and gotten it if they'd left it alone.
After it was caught, who knows if she would? And then they didn't want
the kitten! One family said "no" to their daughter who wanted it for a
pet and the other has a daughter who's allergic, so guess who's taking
care of the kitten?
On the upside, this is the most friendly feral kitten imaginable, and,
yes, we're sure he's feral. It's a small street, and no-one has a cat
with kittens. We're estimating its age at about 6 weeks. Its eyes are
open and deep blue, it's got teeth barely coming in, and it laps up wet
food now that it knows it's food. I had to put some on my finger and
then smush it on his face before he got it and waded into the dish (yes,
two forepaws firmly in the goop) and slurped some up. He loves to be
held and petted, so all those instructions in how to socialize a feral
can be tossed right out the window.
The first chance my friend Melissa and I will have to get him to a vet
for a check-up -- and probably worming and anti-flea treatment -- is
Wednesday evening. For the time being he's in the big cat cage in my
guest room with a towel-lined box, a pillow-case covered hot water
bottle, a dish of food and one of water, a kitten-sized litter pan, and
a stuffed animal (fox). I'll sleep in there with him to keep him
company -- in the room, not in the cage! There are limits to my
suckerdom. ;-) I'm keeping my three cats out of the room.
He's black and white, more a leotard than a tuxedo, as I described him
to someone this afternoon. White paws, splotches on chest & tummy, and
one funny mark on his mouth. In the sun you can see the tiger markings
under the black. Too cute for words. He fits into one hand and has
tiny claws like needles. He very occasionally hisses but frequently
cries if he's not getting petted or otherwise having attention paid to
him. Melissa was petting him and found his "sweet spot" under his left
ear. She had him totally blissed out. Wierdest feral I've met, but
then he's very young.
He seems quite healthy -- not emaciated, nice round tummy even before
discovering wet kitty food -- curious, interested, playful. One eye is
watering just a little bit, and I want to keep an eye on that, but aside
from fleas he seems in very good shape. And we think he's a he.
So far names being tried on are Sprocket, Freckle, Spock (he has pointy
ears), and Sunshine Junior.
If all goes well, he will become a part of Melissa's family, but even if
it doesn't work out we are both determined he will be going to a good
home. Heck, he's already socialized! ;-)
Priscilla