Our Little Feral Kitten, 5wks, no name - Photo Essay

This weekend we went to our place in the Pocono Mountains to celebrate Memorial Day and relax during our three day weekend.  The weather was beautiful and we did the normal things to enjoy all of Natures gifts.  One goal each weekend we go up is to check on our favorite feral cat who we just call Mommy Cat and see if we can find her kittens.  She delivered the end of April, during that last bit of bad weather we had.  We've seen her since, minus her bulging sides and has been enjoying the cat food we put out for her each weekend we go up.  Still no signs of her litter though.  We walk around and listen for little meows, but no sightings yet.

 This is the Mommy cat.

Sunday my husband took Missy for a walk on her leash and ran into a neighbor who lives on the other side of the pond.  We've never met her and since she was walking her dog, they stopped to talk, which is normal when you take your pets for a walk up there.  Since my husband was walking the cat she started to tell this story.

They arrived on Friday night to their home with the dog.  The dog, one of those dust mop little fur balls was acting strangely when they got to the front porch and didn't want to go inside.  She was running from one side to the other and sticking her nose to the ground trying to look between the wood slats.  The Misses was looking but since it was dark, she really couldn't see or hear anything and her Mister went in to fetch a flashlight.  He looked with the flashlight between the slats  and spotted a kitten.  They also know about the Mommy cat and figured it was probably a feral.  With a lot of coaxing a digging a little gully, the little kitten finally came close enough to be rescued.  After some examination and petting, they decided to make a little bed on the front porch and see if Mommy cat came during the night.  They put a little dry cat food they retrieved from a neighbors deck closet and put that out near the kitten, to see if it was eaten during the night by Mommy cat.

They made this little bed from an old litter pan and some old towels. It's so tiny. 

The next morning, baby feral was still there and the cat food was untouched.  Mommy cat did come to our deck to eat Friday and Saturday night, but we didn't know about the happenings at the neighbors place across the pond.  So come Sunday afternoon while the Misses is telling the story to my husband, he is getting excited that one of the kittens is found and rescued from being a feral cat.  He goes on to tell her how we feed the Mommy cat and that we were hoping that come July we would be able to find the kittens and get an orange male if she had one, but we haven't seen any signs of the kittens yet.  She tells him that they really don't want to keep this kitten because they have two adult cats and the dog and they work, so there would be no one to take care of this little kitten.  She tells him to come see the kitten and maybe he would want it.

 It likes the little ball we had.  Missy doesn't play with it any more.

My husband comes home and tells me the story and off we go to visit the kitten.  The Mister comes out and shows us how he has been feeding the kitten formula since Saturday and while he is feeding it tears are rolling down his face.  It is clear he doesn't want to part with the cute little fur ball, and I'm not feeling good about saying I'd love to take it.  The Misses is talking cat and animal talk to us and I'm telling my husband kind of secretly that the Mister is crying and shaking my head no.  He finally looks us and tells us how well the kitten has been doing and eating and I convey that I don't feel comfortable taking the kitten when he is visibly attached and upset.  He insists that he can't keep the little fur ball and would feel good knowing that we would give it a good home and care for it as he couldn't possibly.  We leave, telling them to please think it over and if they wanted to take it home until they come up again, we would be glad to wait until then and if it didn't work out with them, we would then take it.

 Who could say no?

We go home and within a half hour, here comes the Misses with the kitten and formula and little bed they made for it.  So, here it is, little bundle of fur.  We're not sure if it is a male or female yet.  The Mister thinks it is a male, which would be good since Missy, being a female, is very Territorial and a male would be best, or so they say.  Right now she wants no part of it.  She's hisses and growls and feels as though her nose is cut off, so they say.

 Such a sweet little face.

So, our five week old little feral kitten has no name for now.  We got a can of formula and it eats really good from a little bottle.  Funny, I thought it would suck the bottle, but that's not the case.  It kind of just drinks the formula as I squeeze it into it's little mouth.  It sleeps through the night and uses the litter when I put it in there.  I called the vet and got an appointment for June 13th when it will get it's first examination and shots.  The vet said to get canned cat food and mix some with water and the kitten will suck the mixture off the plate and then learn to lap it up.  She has started them as young as three weeks on cat food, so I'll try that when my husband brings some home.

We are leaning toward the name Jody or Jodi, depending on the sex because that was the Mister's name.  This cat will travel back and forth from the Poconos with us, just like Missy.  I hope she gets used to it real soon, he misses his Mom and could use some feline TLC.

We got it this cute little bed since it is used to being enclosed in a dark little hidey hole, I'm sure.

It goes in and out just like it knows this is my space.