Kitten Emergencies

I came home from Chorale early tonight. I'm feeling a little gross--these constant sudden weather changes we're having right now (Sunny! Rainy! Sunny! Rainy!) are getting to my sinuses. The grand plan was to check Facebook, have some hot chocolate, and go to bed.

Plans change.

This afternoon, my friend Miz Minka and her husband Mr. Greenthumb found a kitten--maybe one or two weeks old--who'd been separated from Mama Cat. Being animal people and lovers of all living creatures, Miz M. and Mr. GT took the little mite in and tried to get him to eat, with little success. Tonight, Miz M. appealed to her Facebook friends for help, fearing that she might have to euthanize the wee kitten in a humane attempt to keep him from starving to death.

She came to the right people. There's me, Little Miss Volunteer. I immediately called one of my AFC connections and said, "I'm sorry it's so late, and I know there's a lot of kittens right now, but..." I have to give M a ton of credit. She said, "I'll make some calls."

M wasn't able to get a hold of her first-choice contact, but in the meantime, a friend of Miz Minka was able to call her own friend, who is willing to take the baby in and try to save him. She has experience with this kind of situation, so fingers are crossed and prayers to the cat gods are being said. As I said to M from AFC, "I know we can't save them all, but I can't not try!"

We are getting into the worst time of year for animal shelters--it's kitten season. Yes, it sounds cute, and yes, those babies are adorable. But here's the rub, people--THERE ARE TOO MANY CUTIES. They are often homeless. They are often dumped in inhospitable locations because no one wants to deal with them. Mama cats are left unspayed and you can bet, as soon as she goes into heat the next time, there's a tom (or seven) out there who will be all over that. Mama cats don't have the luxury of The Pill. And having a litter doesn't make them healthier in the long run.

The moral of this story? SPAY AND NEUTER. It can actually prolong your cat's life. I have two happy, healthy, sterylized cats who I assure you, aren't missing anything. Both of these pampered felines started life as unwanted feral babies. Millie had it relatively easy--she was never in true danger. Harley, however, was near death when found, with no mama cat in sight. If the guy who found him hadn't taken him to his neighbor, an AFC foster mom, I would never have known the joy and exasperation that comes from being the mother of a Little Dude.

We can't help them all--but we have to try. And we can educate, educate, educate. SPAY AND NEUTER. I can't say it enough.

Let's just hope that tonight's brand-new little dude is so lucky.