A Tale of Two Kitties

Actually, technically it's three. 

    Our story begins one sunny Sunday, April 17th to be exact. It was a Sunday like any other- I was at my parents to mooch their washer, drier and detergent. After arriving and putting my first load in the washer, I head upstairs to surprise my parents. Just like any other Sunday. As always, my father says "We didn't even hear you get in!" and I reply with "That's because you're deft." Following this, my mother tells me about a kitten on the back sidewalk outside. Immediately I am surprised, scared and intrigued. I go to look.

    There is not one kitten, but two. On the sidewalk was a white kitten with gray spots, and then hiding more in the flowerbed was a mostly white calico. I look around for a mother, but see none. I see two of the farm cats, Sweetie and Silver, but none other. I know for certain Sweetie isn't the mother, since she's completely black- There's no way she could have white kittens like this. Silver.. Wasn't showing any concern for them, but she was also completely gray so I doubt it was her. I couldn't find Rabbit, the most likely to be the mother since she is gray with white spots. 

    Anyways, I know the rules about kittens. I deigned to leave them be for the time being, aside from moving the one on the sidewalk into the flowerbed with its sister. As I did so, I gave him a little check and found him to be male. For the other.. Well, almost ALL calicos are girls, so there wasn't a need to look. After having them what I though to be safely in the bushes, I decided to setup my computer on the back porch, which is enclosed but had windows so that I could listen. The kittens were crying and crying, and I remember the calico always was crawling. Looking for her mother no doubt. The boy seemed much calmer, still loud but crawled less. 

    As time went, I continued to check on them until finally I went inside to eat. By the time I had finished, seven hours had passed since my mother first noticed the kitten and I decided I might have to take action. When I got out there again, I was at first happy to see that the boy was missing. His mother MUST have gotten him! I was happy she wasn't going to neglect her babies. That is, I was happy until I looked to the yard nearby.

    My parents got a puppy, Skippy, a hyper and bouncy mutt thing that I only partially liked. At that moment, any love I had for Skippy disappeared as in his mouth, covered in spit was the boy kitten. He had bitten his tail off, cut his little arm.. I thought I could save him at first and took him from Skippy, but it was too late. I laid that boy kitten to rest in a certain place on the farm. My worry went immediately to the girl, and after sorrowfully laying her brother down, I ran to check on her. 

    When I picked her up, she was so, so cold. She wasn't moving except for a weak meow. I took her close to my chest and ran inside. My first words to my parents then were "I'm running to Walmart, this is mine now." And I left. 

    For the entire car ride, I held that kitten close. While in Walmart, I held her close. I bought her a bed and formula and continued to hold and rub her cold little body while I waited to pay. Everyone was asking me what it was, mistaking her for a tiny mouse. I had also grabbed a bottle, but I mentioned being worried it would be too big for her. Another customer told me that it would be, that I could use a syringe. Luckily, I knew my father to keep one for veterinary use. The kitten had started seeming a little stronger at this point, but I still kept her close to me on the way home. 

    By the time we arrived, she was moving around almost fine, warm again and warm enough to eat. It took her a moment to get used to the syringe, but once she did she drained 3ml from it. For her tiny, empty tummy, it must have been a lot. As she settled to sleep, I continued holding her close and asked my dad for an unmatched sock. I filled that with rice and popped it in the microwave for a minute, while I helped the kitten use the bathroom, before wrapping it in a kitchen towel and setting it and the kitten both in the cat bed I bought for her. I should mention at this point I had been looking up what to do with newborn kittens all day out of worry the mother wouldn't come back. It's a good thing I did. My father asked if I thought of a name yet, and I hadn't. I've always been iffy about naming baby kittens and getting attached but.. Well, it didn't take long. I decided to call her Frita, as frites in French means "fries" and my other cat is Tater. Also, I could call her Small Fry.

    I let the kitten sleep, then fed her again in two hours, then repeated. I decided to stay the night at my parents, since I would be getting up every two hours to feed her. We got through the night without much incident. 

    Once morning came and I felt awake enough to drive, I fed Frita and helped her potty again, then we packed up and headed straight for the vet's office. The doctor inspected her and was amazed at her story and at her recovery. Her paws were nice and pink, she wasn't dehydrated.. She was given a clean bill of health but without the bill! They let us go free of charge since "We didn't do anything doctor-y." I was also given the number of a nurse there who had raised bottle kittens many times, so I could call and ask for advice. 

    As week one continued, I was progressively more and more tired but felt it more and more worth it. Frita was growing fast! The only problem was she was having a little trouble going number two. We managed to get her two on Friday, and a little to wipe off Sunday but.. I decided to take her to the vet on the following Tuesday. Her eyes had opened wide the day before and she was energetic. The doctor we had was different from the first, a woman I knew actually ( dated her son ) and she guessed that Frita was nearly three weeks old. It was amazing to hear, but I had to correct her. I did find her on the day she was born, after all. My poor baby was given an enema and I was told to add a little mineral oil to her food. 

    The second week concluded with an amazing discovery. If I rubbed her tummy while she slept, Frita would go number two without any issue. Remember that if you ever take in a kitten! Sleepy belly rubs! 

    As for the other kitty in our tale, our dear Tater was very displeased in receiving a new sister. He really, really hated her at first. At this point, she is three weeks and two days old, sleeping with a full tummy in her nest. Tater sometimes sniffs her, but he doesn't hiss anymore. He just runs away. 

    It is my hope that as Frita continues to grow, that Tater will take her under his fat rolls and teach her to cat. 


    In other news, my grades are up. ;3 A in Computer, B in Intro to Music and in French, and a C in Wellness. My GPA went up.~ Also, I may make a video detailing HOW I have been taking care of Frita.