Yesterday I was walking out the door to go to my substitute teaching job at the high school. I looked down on the ground and saw a wet, grey creature lying on the sidewalk. I said to my daughter, "Oooh! The cats got a rat!" I'd never seen a rat around here before (just mice and voles) so my tone of voice was pure disgust.
Then it mewed.
And I realized it wasn't a rat at all... it was a newly born kitten!
Our pregnant cat, Lavender, had given birth to her very first kitten on the icy cold sidewalk and left the kitten lying. I picked up the poor little thing and because I had to get to work and the mother cat was nowhere in sight I told my daughter we would put the kitten in a nest box in the warm house and hope for the best.
My daughter went looking for the mother kitty and I heard her yell, "here's another one!" We went out and picked yet another kitten lying on the cold ground! It was quite robust and still warm; it began mewing like crazy. Lavender came running when she heard it. With Lavender following us, we brought the kittens into the garage and put them into a prepared bed. The momma hopped into the box and started cleaning them. We thought that Lavender's body heat and care would be the very best thing for the newborn kittens. We could only leave it to nature.
We couldn't wait to get home. We were greeted by a very contented momma kitty nursing her four kittens. Sadly, the first kitten died. I believe it had become too chilled and just couldn't survive the trauma.
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| Lavender's Day Old Kittens |
In about eight weeks these cuties will be looking for good homes!
