Trying to Rescue Kittens

Last Sunday, I went out to the carport and heard a squeaking sound. I went over to the area where my folks feed their cats, only to find a very small, recently birthed kitten lying on the ground by itself.

We watched the area for awhile to see if the mother cat would come around, but no signs of her. We tried to get it to take some water, but didn’t have the proper tools to do so. We were hoping that the mother would come back to care for it’s baby because I wouldn’t be able to purchase the proper formula and feeder until Monday afternoon.

Unfortunately, the kitten only survived until late morning on Monday. When I called Austin from work, he told me the bad news, but he also let me know that there were now two more kittens.

So, on my way home from work, I went ahead and purchased some formula and a little feeder bottle to try to nurse the kittens through their infancy. Leslie named the gray one “Smokie” and the black one “Bandit.”

From the beginning, Smokie was very healthy and would eat very well. Bandit was smaller and frail and it was difficult to get him to eat. They require lots of attention, feeding about every 3-4 hours (even through the night).

Things went very well until yesterday. We fed them about 4:30 in the afternoon, and both ate sufficiently well. When I went back at about 8:00, Smokie didn’t want to wake up. He acted very sluggish and wouldn’t eat anymore. By this morning, she had died.

Bandit is still small and frail, so we aren’t sure he will make it, but the whole experience has been fascinating for all of us.