Monday, July 16, 2007

A Kitten Story

Have you read Laura's kitten story yet? She's got a cutie over there. We have a similar story to tell -- it must be kitten season?!

The boys brought home a tiny orphaned kitten last week. When I opened the front door, ~N~ was holding a little black bundle close to his chest, and began to make a case for his immediate adoption into our family. He said he had talked to a lady about the kitten and its mother, who apparently was not taking care of it and the poor thing sure looked like he'd been abandoned. His left eye was matted shut and I wasn't altogether sure there was even an eye under all the nasty mess. He was lethargic and loaded with fleas.

I called a vet, who actually makes house calls but he couldn't come until the next morning. He told me the kitten was about 3 weeks old and gave us all kinds of medicine and vitamins and told us where to buy kitten milk and a bottle for it. Yes, we're bottle feeding the little guy every few hours.



After being treated for fleas and having a few bottles, we saw a definite change in his behavior. His eyes began to clear up and he has started to be playful. When he found the bathroom rug, he thought he had found his mama. He tries to nurse the rug and is so comforted by it that he lays there and falls asleep.



The boys named him Turbo. I don't think we can keep him though. Moving at the end of this year back to the U.S. will be complicated enough the way it is. I'm hoping we will be able to nurse the little guy back to good health, wean him, litterbox train him, and then find him a good Croatian home where he can stay and live with his people.... Sounds good on paper, but I don't know if it will work in real life.

1 comment:

Laura said...

Bless your heart! Your little furry baby is even younger than ours. The vet said Delilah looks to be about 6 to 7 weeks old. I love the picture of the kitten trying to nuese on the rug - poor sweetie!