Lost and Found

Lost and Found - Reflections on Adopting a Stray Kitten

We simply had too many animals. There was no question about it.

Between the horses and the dog and the guinea pig and the humans, we really had no more room in our hearts or our home for another creature. Not even a tiny turtle.

We never had a chance.

Then we heard it. It was a tiny mew, almost too faint to be heard, coming from atop a pile of big square hay bales. Looking up, we spied two huge eyes in a tiny lump of fluff, smaller than a tennis ball.

She was all alone.

Before we knew it, my daughters had smuggled the two-week-old kitten into our family home. Day and night, we took turns feeding her with a doll-sized baby bottle. She slurped the feline infant formula fiercely each hour.

Almost immediately, the baby kitten grew quite attached to us, endearing her to us as well.

A teenager’s bedroom became her domain, at least for the first month of so, as we watched her explore and gain strength and grow.

Our veterinarian pronounced the orphan kitty healthy and gave us the go-ahead to wean her to real kitten food. We geared up, with a larger litter box, feed and water dishes and plenty of catnip-enriched kitten toys.

The vet informed us that our little orphaned pet was actually a Maine Coon cat. This explained the odd chirping noises she was making, as she ran around the room. Also, the vet explained that this tiny creature would probably outgrow Garfield someday!

What would the dog do? What would we all do? What would happen to the kitten?

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