Kittens

Harland and I have never Blessed with children, but God sees fit to send us kittens on what seems to be a regular basis. I like to think of them as infertility consolation prizes.

October 27, 2007:  We found Kitty on the Illinois side of the Mississippi river near Hannibal, Missouri. She was less than a year old.

November 15, 2007

November 15, 2007

November 27, 2014:  We found Muffin in the middle of the road near Bynumville, Missouri. He was about two months old.

November 30, 2014

November 30, 2014

July 30, 2015: We found two crying kittens – this time in our own driveway!  (God is getting a little lax in providing exotic locations to unload kittens upon us.) They are about a month old.

(These 2 pics were taken the day after we found them:)

Kittens (2)

July 31, 2015

Kittens (1)

July 31, 2015

They were dirty, very frightened, and very very hungry.

Their mother, one of our barncats, hadn’t been seen for a couple days.

Hitler

Hitler, as we called her, had been with us for well over 10 years. She never became tame, but she was dependable, always around. Other barncats came and went, but there she was year in, year out. But now she’s gone.

In fact, ALL of our barncats are gone. We’re not sure what happened, but we had heard several hunting dogs barking in the cornfield across the road last week and suspect they’re to blame. We have coyotes around, but they don’t go in for wholesale slaughter like hunting dogs do. We’ve never been without barncats. It’s sad to go up to the barn and see their feedpans waiting for them.

Anyway, back to the kittens. On Thursday evening, we were closing everything up for the night when I heard kittens crying. Harland and I walked up the driveway toward the barn and found them in the driveway, crying and crying. It wasn’t hard to catch them, weak as they were. Holding them and feeling their little bones sticking out beneath their skins and seeing their dirty faces, we knew Hitler would never have ignored her babies like that. She was always a good mama.

So we put them in a box in our garden shed (a good tight, dogproof building), and fed them some warm milk. With a little encouragement, they quickly learned to lap it up. Once their tummies were full, we headed in for the night.

Next day I bought them some kitten formula at the vet and got some advice too. He said they needed to be fed 6 times a day. Oy. The kittens and I spent a lot of quality time over the weekend, and got to know each other. I watched them eat, and gave them little sponge baths to get their fur all clean and fluffy.

They’re both feeling much better now. They’ve become very active, are using a litter box (most of the time) and yesterday we started them on dry kitten food soaked in formula which they both ate very well. It stays with them better and they’re not getting so hungry between feedings.

Last night, Harland took some pics of the little tikes, not an easy task since they’re so wiggley.

Tuxedo is a fighter, always squirming, never still, very vocal, but a piddler when it comes to eating. Can’t seem to concentrate and takes him/her forever to clean up his/her dish.

Kittens04

August 5, 2015

Kittens05

Stripey is more timid and quiet, but eats like a wolf, putting his/her head down into the bowl and not coming up again until it’s clean.

August 5, 2015

August 5, 2015

Kittens02

August 5, 2015

Over the weekend I took care of all the feedings, and then when I went back to work on Monday, Harland took over several feedings during the day. They’re both timid around us and are very squirmy when held. In time they’ll settle down. We hold them close and hug them after feedings, and they’re both finally starting to purr.

In a few weeks, when they’re more used to people, and using their litter box consistently, they’ll be ready for adoption.

Kittens anyone?

Seriously, how can you resist this?

Kittens03

Yes I know, that’s not the proper way to hold a baby, but just look at that adorable fat tummy and those little short legs.

All together now:   Awwwww……..

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoo

Suzanne

Cattle, corn, wheat, beans, mud, snow, ice, and drought. Plenty of fresh air and quiet. Our life is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous, but never boring.

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18 Responses

  1. Anne says:

    Very sweet.

  2. Liz says:

    Thank you Suzanne and Harland for being such good “parents” to your fur babies! They are so lucky that you care.

    Hunting dogs!! 🙁

  3. Lisa says:

    and the tail tucked between the legs — awwwww!!

  4. Ahhhhh……STripey is calling my name! I so hate that I live a thousand miles away. Those eyes!!

  5. Becca says:

    so sorry to hear about all your barn cats. I remember the photos you posted of Hitler and the yellow tom cat and his injured paw. Kittens are adorable!

  6. Victoria Howell says:

    Oh my goodness the are so sweet looking. I am a sucker for kitties. That is why we have two house cats – one rescue and one feral we “converted”, and another feral we’ve been feeding for over 2 years. I think being “kitty magnets” may be genetic!

    If you can’t find homes for them, maybe they can stay on as barncats?

  7. Mary in Idaho says:

    Darling wee kitties. Why don’t you want them for barn cats? Just wondering. Barn cats are critical to the ecosystem of a farm. I was never supposed to play with our barn cats. Bummer! Unfortunately I loved and hugged everything that breathed on our ranch. My folks always knew when I had been in the barn loft and attempting to hug the barn cats and their new kittens. I was scratched all over but happy!

  8. Ellen Peavey says:

    What a great story and really good pictures of the kittens, had a young female cat dropped off at our house five years ago. It was late December and had snowed that night I hear a cat meowing on the front porch and found Cocoa. She has been the best mouser she earns her keep by catching mice and rats, we live in the country. She is a very friendly cat but won’t come inside, we have a garage for her during the winter or she sleeps in my green house where I keep the straw. Ellen from Georgia

  9. Linda says:

    They are just darling. If I were closer and didn’t have my Dixie Rose, I’d take them both. I especially like the first photo. Is that a little milk on the chin I see?

  10. Jeanne says:

    Ooh!!!! They are darling! I think Stripey is especially cute. Too bad I can’t take them.
    I hope you’re doing well.
    Jeanne💓

  11. Tina says:

    Very sweet babies. Vote they become your new barn cats too! You are a good Momma to all your fur-babies, Suzanne. My rescue cat, Lola has been my best friend. Thank you for been kind enough to rescue them, and that goes for Harland too!

  12. Vivian says:

    What lucky kittens to have you and Harland! Tuxedo reminds me our kitty Beau when he was a baby. No baby now! Beau is a big cat and weighs 23 pounds. Years ago my beloved cat Emily was killed by a neighbor’s dog (I live in the burbs, not on a farm). From that day on I decided that any cat that wanted to live in my house had to use a litter box and be an indoor cat. They seemed to understand, and every one since has been content to stay inside and use the box. Blessings to your family. 🙂

  13. Mary Ryan says:

    Of course, such good pictures!!! Will pass your info along on FB!

  14. Mrs. H says:

    Awwww…they’re so cute! (but sorry, I can’t adopt them)

    We live within city limits. When we moved in earlier this year, we discovered that the next-door neighbor, who said they moved in a couple months before us, had about 7-10 feral cats living in their junky, derelict garage. The cats poop wherever, and are not de-flead or de-wormed, so they spread filth wherever they go & they lounge anywhere & everywhere, including on our front porch also.
    I was going to put up with them since cats catch mice, right?
    Not when the neighbor across the street feeds them!

    Soon there will be fewer cats when I start trapping them to take to the local humane society.

  15. Mrs. H says:

    p.s. — I like cats usually (when they are de-wormed, etc.), but my husband is allergic to them.

  16. Rebecca says:

    I must have missed a blog post!
    What ever happened to the 2 babies?

    • Suzanne says:

      One I managed to get adopted by a coworker, and the other eventually went to the humane society when I couldn’t find someone to take him.

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