[angyl_amal]

This morning, I came to school and settled in my usual corner to hang out for the day until my class starts. The building is almost completely empty, as most of the summer classes were only six weeks and have ended already. So I'm just procrastinating and doing nothing productive, and someone comes in with this kitten. A baby tabby kitten, no more than one or two weeks old! Eyes were still closed and he was meowing up a storm. He was found in the bushes outside of the building after being heard now and then for the last two days.
So we were trying to figure out what to do for the little guy, as his mother was nowhere to be seen. An officer I know suggested we put him back to see if the mother would come back, but then we realized that because he was covered in human scent, putting him back would most likely lead to abandonment. I was the only student hanging around in the lobby, so I kept him with me to make sure he was okay while we thought of what to do. He seemed to be trying to find food, like I was his mother, so we warmed up some milk and tried to give it to him, but he wouldn't take it. I wanted to take him home myself, but I was sure my parents would not accept and considering how young he is, he needed round-the-clock care, which I and my family are currently unable to give. Now, one of the girls that works at a small coffee cart has experience working in an animal shelter and has worked with mother cats and their babies in the past, so she has the knowledge and means to take care of him. So it was agreed that she and her girlfriend would take him in.
They took him to a doctor to get him looked at, and as we thought, he had been abandoned for about two days and was in danger of dying at a 50/50 chance, depending on if he would start eating or not. Took a little bit of work, but he did eat, downed two and a half bottles, and is now sleeping, so he should recover and grow stronger. He has been named Pharaoh Gypsy Jones, or baby Pharaoh for short.
I had started out with a morning that was going in its usual routine, not feeling enthusiastic or motivated for anything, especially studying. Then comes this little baby that lightens my mood significantly. Animals, especially cats, have always lifted my mood when I wasn't feeling my best. I no longer have any pets, and my family can't really afford to care for one right now, but after I move out on my own, I want to adopt a kitten of my own when I can afford to care for one. In my opinion, pets are so much better than any medication that can be prescribed, because animals don't judge, and when you have one that's a part of your family, it will love you no matter what the situation is.

[AvidReader]

I couldn't agree more, angyl_mal!

Thank you so much for sharing that sweet, touching story.

That is such a sweet story thank you!

[Yoda]

FYI if you cannot get to a vet or a pet store right away to buy kitten replacement milk you can add an egg yolk to 8 oz of milk. The times when I fed young kittens is was a real trial because they didn't know how to suckle on the bottle and I used a syringe. Not an easy task.

Hope kitty does well. Is he warm enough?

[angyl_amal]

Very interesting, Yoda. I always was told that eating raw egg was not healthy, so I never thought of that kind of thing before. How does it help for cats?
The girls were starting with goat's milk because it seems to be closer to cat milk than cow's, at least until they could get kitten formula. She had to get him to smell the milk before he started eating, which I tried after we found him. He seemed to already know how to suckle, 'cause he seemed to be trying to from when we originally tried to feed him by giving drops from fingertips (since we didn't have a bottle or syringe handy) and he even seemed to be trying to gnaw on the edge of my shirt and I'm pretty sure I felt him trying to lick or suckle on my skin, as I had him against my chest the whole time and was wearing a v-neck, lower cut shirt (which he sometimes tried to burrow his face into). Maybe the warmth he was feeling had something to do with that or something, I don't know. But he seemed to try when he was not meowing, which wasn't very often unless I moved around a little. For the diagnosis the vet gave, he sounded pretty healthy - one of the loudest meows I've ever heard! ^_^
When he went to sleep after eating, he was put on a heating pad and covered - this girl definitely knows how to take care of him.
I didn't get any new updates today, but we'll see what we can find out tomorrow.

[ZilchHour]

Thank you for sharing the story. It definitely lifted my spirits as well. I hope that the kitten is doing even better now since there are some caring people around. Do keep us posted with the updates.

[lizardlady]

Oh I agree about nimals lifing my spirits! Nothing can lift my spirits at the end of a bad day like snuggling with one of my critters.

How is the baby doing?

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by angyl_amal

Very interesting, Yoda. I always was told that eating raw egg was not healthy, so I never thought of that kind of thing before. How does it help for cats?

On another site for health professionals one of the vet students said that cow's milk was too low in protein for kittens and said to add the egg. I wonder too about the bacteria in uncooked egg.

[Harley1]

Originally Posted by angyl_amal

This morning, I came to school and settled in my usual corner to hang out for the day until my class starts. The building is almost completely empty, as most of the summer classes were only six weeks and have ended already. So I'm just procrastinating and doing nothing productive, and someone comes in with this kitten. A baby tabby kitten, no more than one or two weeks old! Eyes were still closed and he was meowing up a storm. He was found in the bushes outside of the building after being heard now and then for the last two days.
So we were trying to figure out what to do for the little guy, as his mother was nowhere to be seen. An officer I know suggested we put him back to see if the mother would come back, but then we realized that because he was covered in human scent, putting him back would most likely lead to abandonment. I was the only student hanging around in the lobby, so I kept him with me to make sure he was okay while we thought of what to do. He seemed to be trying to find food, like I was his mother, so we warmed up some milk and tried to give it to him, but he wouldn't take it. I wanted to take him home myself, but I was sure my parents would not accept and considering how young he is, he needed round-the-clock care, which I and my family are currently unable to give. Now, one of the girls that works at a small coffee cart has experience working in an animal shelter and has worked with mother cats and their babies in the past, so she has the knowledge and means to take care of him. So it was agreed that she and her girlfriend would take him in.
They took him to a doctor to get him looked at, and as we thought, he had been abandoned for about two days and was in danger of dying at a 50/50 chance, depending on if he would start eating or not. Took a little bit of work, but he did eat, downed two and a half bottles, and is now sleeping, so he should recover and grow stronger. He has been named Pharaoh Gypsy Jones, or baby Pharaoh for short.
I had started out with a morning that was going in its usual routine, not feeling enthusiastic or motivated for anything, especially studying. Then comes this little baby that lightens my mood significantly. Animals, especially cats, have always lifted my mood when I wasn't feeling my best. I no longer have any pets, and my family can't really afford to care for one right now, but after I move out on my own, I want to adopt a kitten of my own when I can afford to care for one. In my opinion, pets are so much better than any medication that can be prescribed, because animals don't judge, and when you have one that's a part of your family, it will love you no matter what the situation is.

This story is so touching and thanks to you that little kitten survived, "you rescued her" and she/he "rescued you". What about working in an animal shelter. That kitten may not have made it because of you and they way you handled the situation took courage. ps. from an animals lover myself who loves them company of dogs

[angyl_amal]

I don't have any updates on Pharaoh yet, as this campus has been nearly vacant and my contact people about him are some of the many that are not here right now. But as soon as I hear more about him, I will share. I do, however, have a new development to the whole story - Tuesday afternoon, we found his littermates!
On the opposite side of the building in a secured storage area (not completely enclosed, so there is air circulation and animals can sneak in), the mother hid her remaining five kittens in the corner under a bunch of easels that belong to the art classes. Mama hid them very well, it was hard to get to them! The first time we looked, the mother was out and the little ones were huddled together in a ball, sleeping. Question now is, what to do with these little ones?? The school can't have animals running rampant on the campus, so they had to go somewhere. First, animal control was called. They said there were two options: first, trap the mother and they'd take the whole bunch. Second, don't trap the mother, the babies would be taken without her and they would be put to sleep. Obviously, none of us were happy with that, and from what I hear, animal traps can be expensive if one had to be bought.
I shared this update with my local friends on Facebook, and a fellow cat lover directed me to a cat care group that was dedicated to rescuing stray and abandoned cats and getting them adopted. We called this group and left them a message. Later in the evening, a staff member (I'll call her Sarah here) and her daughter had decided that they wanted to adopt one, maybe two of the kittens and we went back out there to see if we could get to them. This time, mama cat was there, nursing the babies. After a few minutes, she scampered out, showing no signs of hostility, not even fear, really. She herself was a small cat, probably fairly young. After she left, we set to work on extracting the kittens.
Three tables and an easel were moved to the side and four of the five were easily scooped out of the corner and into a box, while the fifth started crawling deeper into the hole. Sarah couldn't reach the little one and her daughter was holding the box with the rest of the litter, so I volunteered to reach in there. Being on the smaller side, I figured I would have a better chance of reaching. I definitely had to reach, as he tried to crawl further away and it was a tight space, but I managed to scoop him out.
All five of them are boys, four of them grey tabbies (two of them have more defined stripes, the other two look closer to just grey fluff balls) and the fifth is black with slight tabby stripes, not surprising as the mother is a grey tabby herself. Their eyes had opened very recently and they were meowing away, not nearly as loud as baby Pharaoh did though! This time, I made certain to get a video recording of them as we checked them out. Sarah and her daughter decided to take the black one and one of the grey ones home to adopt. We then decided to put them back in their hole as the mother wanted them hidden and there was nowhere else to put them.
Yesterday when I got to campus, I got another update. The cat group called back and brought a trap to use for catching the mother, which worked. Sarah took her and the rest of the kittens home to care for. The mother is completely tame and very friendly. So for now, the five babies will stay with mommy until they're old enough to be on their own, then three of them will be up for adoption.
In Pharaoh's case, I'm thinking he was the runt and/or he was just weaker than the others if he was abandoned, as he was smaller and weaker than his brothers when we found him. At least he was on the mend, and Sarah said that Pharaoh can be brought to the mother to stay with her for a while until he's a little bigger if his new owners were up for it. But seeing as the girls haven't been around, they don't know this news and they might not until Fall semester starts up again in a couple of weeks, and by then, Pharaoh will probably be strong enough to be on his own anyway, who knows.
But for now at least, they're all doing well and that's what matters.

[angyl_amal]

Originally Posted by Harley1

This story is so touching and thanks to you that little kitten survived, "you rescued her" and she/he "rescued you". What about working in an animal shelter. That kitten may not have made it because of you and they way you handled the situation took courage. ps. from an animals lover myself who loves them company of dogs

I think I considered working at an animal shelter or something once, but decided it might take an emotional toll on me, as I'm fairly empathetic, so if an animal was sick or had been abused or something, I don't know how well I'd be able to handle it.
If I made a difference for baby Pharaoh or any of his brothers, heck even for the mom, then that makes me happy. Even just holding them lifted my spirits and made me happy. I've always loved cats, and I know for certain that I want one of my own as soon as I can afford to care for one.

[SillyKitty]

So sweet! Congratulations on catching the mama kitty!!

[angyl_amal]

Okay, I have an update now.

Pharaoh is doing very well in his new home. He's growing very fast, running around, and will go to his little kitty carrier when he notices that the girls are getting ready to go out, because they take him with them many times. Heck, sometimes he'll even sleep in there! ^_^ He's almost ready for solid foods, just waiting for more of his teeth to come in, and they'll soften the food with a little milk when they do start him on it. Which might be interesting, considering that he sort of threw a tantrum when they stopped giving him his bottle and gave him his milk in a little saucer. ^_^ He was practically fighting with his bottle on the floor, chewing at it and meowing a lot.

Overall, he's in very good health and in great care.

I don't have updates on the rest of the litter and mommy yet, but I'll share when I do have something.

[lizardlady]

Thanks for the update. I'm sitting here with a silly ol' grin on my face after reading about the babies.

[alyssum]

What a nice story, with so many people helping.

[lizardlady]

angyl_amal, what's going on with the babies?

[C.lynn]

Originally Posted by Yoda

FYI if you cannot get to a vet or a pet store right away to buy kitten replacement milk you can add an egg yolk to 8 oz of milk. The times when I fed young kittens is was a real trial because they didn't know how to suckle on the bottle and I used a syringe. Not an easy task.

Hope kitty does well. Is he warm enough?

I found while raising two puppies that the syringe didnt work for me. So i got a cheap sandmich bag that was soft and poked a hole in the corner and the puppies took very well.

[ChockFullO'Nuts]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1347567639.861309.jpg

I love my Jack Russell... He's old. I have 2 more pups as well. Sometimes they keep me going.

[angyl_amal]

Sorry for taking so long to update.
The whole bunch is doing well. Pharaoh is still growing and as healthy as ever. I was able to see him once when the girls brought him by the school. He was quiet this time, but quite playful as he tried to catch my fingers through the mesh of his carrier. ^_^ Mother and the rest of the litter are doing well too. Last I heard, there were a lot of people wanting to adopt the babies. Sarah hadn't chosen who would take them yet because she wanted to be sure that they’d go to very good homes.
I’m happy that this story is having a happy ending.

I was going to say that animals are better than people, but this works too! I agree.

[Maven]

Awww, thanks for sharing this! I wish all happiness, love and goodness for Pharoah, the other kittens and mommy, too!

[bastetsha]

What a sweet story. I hope Pharaoh, his mother, and his siblings are doing well and have happy long lives full of petting and purrs!

i hope the kitties will be okay....

[Travelinglady]

Glad you were able to take the little one in. I have even read that older people benefit from having pets. They give us something to care about, can give us exercise, and even petting them can lower our blood pressure! And they can give us unconditional love.

[angyl_amal]

New update! Kitties are all doing very well. Pharaoh is very healthy, playful and loving life. Mama and two of the other little ones are now adopted out to good homes. Oh, and turns out that two of the babies were actually girls! ^_^ I'm so glad they're all doing so well.

On another note, after countless times of my youngest sister begging mom for a cat, for Christmas, we've adopted a 6 or 7-month-old Russian Blue mix now named Ison. My sister has primary responsibilities over him and he is settling in quite nicely. So far, he's done well with staying indoors, but he loves to find various holes to hide in!

The night we brought him home, he decided to go into the master bathroom and found a hole under the bathtub to hide in and stayed there for most of the next day, leaving us tearing the house apart trying to find him. He then loved hiding under the Christmas tree behind the presents and in my sister's dollhouse in the corner. Now, he'll go for closets, under beds, and the other bathroom (which is currently being remodeled, so lots of "toys" to play with).

Ison was a stray before he was taken into the shelter, but you'd never think he ever was, based on his behavior. He is very friendly and playful and loves running around the house and chasing after his toys and laser dots.

Welcome to the family, Ison!