In mid July, a feral cat that mostly lives across the street from us left a litter of 6 kittens that looked less than a week old in my lily flower bed. My sister put the kittens in a box, moved them to a more protected spot where we had also seen the mother. When we checked the box the next afternoon, the two smallest kittens were left behind. A decision had to be made right away, so we immediately found a new box, put in a heating pad with a clean towel, while my sister dashed off to the grocery store to buy eye droppers and the ingredients for emergency kitten formula. We did not know at the time that Tractor Supply carried KMR and bottles. But until our supply of KMR from Amazon arrived, the two sweet all white kittens, named Charlie and Minuet did just fine on the Friskees cat milk from the grocery store. One of our dogs, a Chihuahua/Yorkie mix rescued from a puppy mill named Gracie volunteered herself to be the kittens nanny, taking care of the necessary duties after feeding. Although we still had to burp them. I spent the rest of July and most of August sleeping in the recliner, with two small white kittens nestled in my arms.

Once the kittens were weaned to dry food they were also ready to leave their crate. Local shelters are full, as are local foster organizations. Everywhere I go, I have asked if anyone is interested in kittens but the answer is usually that they are trying to find homes for kittens. The neighbor has finally spayed the feral mother cat, and is doing what she can to keep her colony of outdoor cats under control. As for Charlie and Minuet, they are home here, with our two other cats and four dogs.