My first dog was exhausting: she demanded constant attention but no matter how much you gave her, it was never enough - it just served to make her demands more frenzied. Adopted from an animal shelter, I never knew if she had become neurotic because she had been abandoned by her previous owner(s?), or if she had been abandoned because she was neurotic.
About 10 days ago, one of my cats was killed on the road. This week, I found an abandoned, approximately 10-day old kitten near my home. I found it because it had been squealing non-stop within my hearing for the previous 12 hours or so. Its little tummy fell in baggy, empty folds of skin where it should have been bulging with milk. It is now in my home, being hand reared.
Again, I will never know if it squeals so much because it was abandoned by its mother, or if its mother abandoned it because it squealed so much. I'm starting to suspect the latter.
Not exactly something you could walk away from though, eh? That's a cute kitten. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAwwww, what a cutie! You're a star to take on such a little bundle of trouble.
ReplyDeleteDon't!
ReplyDeleteWhile I was away in the U.K. Mr Fly was feeding a starving lactating bitch.
She duly brought us her puppy before being collared and shut up again by her owner who refuses to let us buy her.
So we have this amazing puppy...
Then another abandoned dog came down to try us out and is now sleeping on the sofa...
Together with The Dog and the middle aged dog whose three legged mother brought him down to root through our dustbin... we had mother and son for several months before mother died from a heart attack.
Owner of pup's mum says this is because we fed her when she was not accustomed to being fed...
If I see owner of pup's mum on foot when I am in the car I shall run her down without compunction.
All the cats of my life have wandered into my life and, well, made things interesting. Good for you for the rescue and I don't think you'll regret it.
ReplyDeleteCute kitten, even if it squeals... I can't walk past them either. In fact, just got back from camping in portugal, where on the last night walking to a restaurant heard a kitten crying for its mother in some bushes. Found said kitten but was persuaded by friend (and owner of transport back home) that its mother would come and find it. Reluctantly left kitten, worried about it all night and went back the next morning to find it again. Yep, it had been abandoned, but luckily (and especially luckily for friend who may very well have had to transport said kitten the 1000 or so kms back to spain) the people in the camping site reception were cat people and took him in...
ReplyDeleteand sorry to hear about your other cat... xx
ReplyDeleteHow does The Whippet take the new, squealing (cute!) creature? You're a good woman!
ReplyDelete@ Chris: It's uncomfortable to reflect on what we can walk away from and what we can't. Very few tragedies reported in the media have the power to move me any more, and yet one abandoned kitten in a yard swarming with feral cats...
ReplyDelete@ Sarah: More a sucker than a star, I'd say!
@ Lee: Most of my cats have been "unplanned", too. But never this young before - it's a bit daunting.
@ Mondraussie: Good to hear from you, and great that you found a home for the kitten. Only two of the 13 cats I've had so far have died of old age - and they were my two original English cats. Spanish cats must be less cautious or something. So it was sad when my other cat died, but not a huge surprise - I'm getting a bit hardened to it now.
@ Ellie: You may regret asking that question. He licks it. A bit like ants milk aphids, he has discovered that gently licking its bottom releases nectar, and since that relieves me of doing it (with a damp piece of cotton, I hasten to add), its a win situation all round.
@ Fly: It's a slippery path to take, isn't it? Once you start, it's like word gets round all the strays in your district. Fortunately for me, my other cat is very territorial and keeps all strays out of my garden and my reach, but there wasn't much he could do about this one.
ReplyDeleteAs for pup's mum, at least snatch her grocery shopping out of her hands as you drive past.
Oh, so cute! You're funny with your chicken and egg questions.
ReplyDeleteWe have 4 feral kittens in our woodshed here in France and I've been feeding them since they were weaned. We're only here for the summer and I feel dreadful at the thought of leaving them to fend for themselves very soon, but try to take comfort from the fact that I've at least enabled them to grow and flourish for a while and hopefully be strong and well enough to cope with the winter.
ReplyDeleteSounds like your whippet is doing what the mother of any young baby animal does. Instinct is kicking in and helping you.(as gross as it is to us humans).
ReplyDelete@ Mwa: Or cat and kitten questions.
ReplyDelete@ Perpetua: Well, you've given them a healthy start. Just don't be surprised to return next summer to 12 feral kittens!
@ Joan Murray: Instinct, or perhaps I should feed him more?
Sadly only too likely, Pueblo Girl, but what else could I do? I'm too law-abiding to smuggle them bck to the UK. Sigh.....
ReplyDelete