by Jana Lineweaver
Have you ever had something amazing, crazy, or unreal happen and wished so badly there was a witness? Seems to happen to me all the time, especially when I’m out on animal adventures. Well, this July, I finally got my witness!
Late last spring, out in Cedar Creek, a momma cat had a litter of kittens. Over the next several weeks and months, the mom and all but two of her kittens were snatched up by predators! The lady who lived there, unfortunately, couldn’t do anything more than drop food and leave due to her severe cat allergies. As such, these final two kittens were not really socialized, and the sweet homeowner knew, without help, they were destined for the same fate as their mom and siblings.
At her home, these kittens’ guardian angel watched from a distance as I trapped one kitten in the first thirty minutes. Unfortunately, the second kitten would prove to be a lot more troublesome.
For hours, this poor lady and I were just melting in the heat with only one tree to run to for an intermittent shade break. Finally I went to a shed that was open at both ends, where I believed the little tuxedo kitten had hidden.
I could have sworn he was in a stack of three car tires, one on top of the other, where a trap was infeasible. So I dug out my huge, bulky, bite-proof gloves I have never used and a pet carrier that opens from the top. Drops of sweat burned my eyes, gloves so thick they wouldn’t bend, I crouched over some tires, blindly feeling inside for a small kitten.
I couldn’t feel anything with those huge gloves, and I started to realize that maybe he wasn’t even in there. All of the sudden, the kitten sprang into the air, three feet off the tire like a rocket!
I turned, and while airborne, snatched him with both gloved hands. In the same motion from mid-air, I placed him in the open-top pet carrier and shut the top! The homeowner was watching. She was jumping up and down with joy, hollering with cheer and shock. She was so impressed that I thought she was going to ask for my autograph!
The truth is that it was all by crazy chance! I wasn’t sure if the kitten was still in the tires, I had never used those stiff, oversized gloves, and had never even used the top-access door to my pet carrier. I was overheated; dehydrated; and honestly, ready to give up. This sweet lady thought for sure I was expert level, but it was truly all a crazy chance.
Those male kittens were TNR’d and recovering at my home. In a short time, they were letting me pet them and giving me sweet purrs.
They now are living their best life as family members/barn cats out in Smithville. They love the horses and their new mom and dad, who often send pictures and updates of little Felix and Milo.
Love this story! Gives me hope! I helped a freezing kitty whom I named Princess, last Winter. In the early spring she surprised me with 4 gorgeous, very different kittens. That’s when Bastrop Cats taught me that there could be multiple male contributors. lol Two kittens disappeared (a white Siamese and a silver colored one– probably predators, and, a third one — my favorite “Purr Purr” got run over. I found him on the road and picked him up in my arms and then buried him in my daughter’s pet cemetery.) That left Tab Tab — whom I brought into the house to live with my other indoor cat, Mr. Hope. I knew I needed to catch Princess for a TNR, but she’s a very intelligent calico cat. And next thing I knew, she blessed me with another litter of precious kittens. I’m a senior citizen, and the challenges just keeps coming. Bastrop Cats — bless them! — took the new foursome into a foster situation –even the little pure white blind one! I kept trying to catch princess, caught some possums first –released them, and then-caught a male Tomcat–probably a drop off) People drop their cats and dogs on our country road fairly often. Coyotes usually get them before we can help out. Bastrop Cats named the “drop off” Prince, and helped me find a place to take him for TNR. He now resides happily in my courtyard as an outdoor/, loveable cat. Prince and Princess get along wonderfully — but I still can’t catch Princess! This article gives me hope. Loved reading it!