8.16.2007

Bleeding Heart

My heart is just sick right now! It's raining cats & dogs here today due to Tropical Depression Erin on the coast of TX and I mean it is POURING! So I'm upstairs hanging with the kiddos in the game room and I hear this strange sound...it sounds like a bird to me but there's something kind of plaintive about it. I get close to the window and really listen. That's when it dawns on me....THAT'S A KITTEN!!
So I shove my feet into some boots(unfortunately not rain boots *sigh*) plop a hat on my head, run downstairs, then outside and around to the side of our house(getting completely soaked I might add). There I see a soaking wet momma cat and 2 itty bitty kittens. Ok they looked more like drowned rats, the poor things. I don't know what that cat was thinking but they were in a terrible spot...no covering, a small lake fast filling up with more water and those cute little scraggly things were certainly going to drown if they stayed there much longer! So....I had to rescue them, right??
Of course this wild momma cat hisses and runs away as soon as I pick them up. So I get in the house, wrap them in a towel and dry them off, then run to the back and lay them outside under the covered patio in the towel so momma can hopefully hear them and come to the back too. I bring out some bowls of food & water for momma just in case. At this point the kittens are quiet since they're all dry, warm and safe now so I pick one up and have it "mew" for a little while hoping to coax the momma cat back. I finally just go inside and keep looking out the back patio door to see if they're ok. After about an hour I peek out and notice one of them is gone! Oh noooo!!!! I go outside and can't see it anywhere, or the momma cat for that matter. So I go back inside, since I need to get the girls sippy cups, and after a couple of minutes I check again only to see that the other kitten is gone! I run outside and I can see the momma carrying the baby kitten off in the distance along the top of a fence line. Mind you it is STILL a torrential down pour. My heart just drops! Those poor little kittens. :o(

I'm really having a hard time imagining they will be ok but I really do hope so! I was happy to see that the momma cat ate the food and drank some water so hopefully that will help her. I'm praying she found a dry place to keep them safe and warm until the rain passes. I was so close to taking the kittens back inside but was torn since I didn't want to seperate them from their momma. Of course my dh thinks I am a complete "bleeding heart" when it comes to animals and children and when I first called to tell him about the kittens he said, "so we've adopted 2 kittens now right?" Sheesh!

I was tagged the other day and was planning on posting my answers but that will have to wait till later when I calm down a bit.

So I'm curious dear readers, what would you have done??

7 comments:

Nannette said...

You did the right thing! Just have faith they'll be okay....they are tough little critters (and I love them so). :)

AnnieRoso said...

That is rough! I guess it really was raining cats & dogs where you are. At least you gave them some shelter from the storm, no matter how small.

Anonymous said...

I would have done the same thing. Perhaps I would have built a little shelter on my porch with towels and things to keep both Momma and babies warm.

I'm kinda worried about them, too!

Angela said...

I'm not a big animal fan, but you defintely did all you could. More than me! Just like some kids and big people, you offered help to that mama and she didnt want to take it. I hope they are ok.

cute blog. I found you through blogmommas and saw you are an etsy seller too!

Anonymous said...

That's a hard call, if the kittens were super young, you would have had alot on your hands, bottle feeding them and such. If the Mother was feral, you wouldn't have ever gotten her inside or near you for that matter. Maybe you can leave food and water outside for them, cats are so resilient, I hope they are ok too! Ack, now I'm worried! (you would love the book "my Cat Skip Mcgee" by Willie Morris)

Kelli Gotje said...

Thanks for visiting my blog (SKDR).

My partner was driving home from work one very rainy night and found a little three week old kitten in the middle of the bridge near the house we used to live in. He stopped in the heavy rain and picked her up and bought her home. She smelled like something dead and was either wild or had been miss treated by humans. We kept her and Scott named her Bridge and she is now a special part of our family, but you did the right thing letting her go with her mother.

Roberta said...

You know, I think I would have done the same thing. I'm sure momma cat's natural instincts kicked in and she took them to higher, dryer ground. Maybe you were the resting spoy she needed before going on.
Nice to meet you fellow Texan!

Roberta