Orphaned Kitten :(

[nirvana]

My future mother-in-law texted me while I was working this weekend (I'm kennel manager at a local veterinary clinic). A kitten was hidden beneath her car, and started crying really loudly when it saw her and following her around. She gave it some food and water, but there was no sign of its mommy, and she wanted us to come and get the little thing since her own cat is highly aggressive towards other cats, and I've got plenty of kitten-rearing experience.

We can't be certain what happened to mom, but I believe kitten was left there while the mom went out hunting, as wild cats often hide their young and come back for them after they're done. Something happened to mom and she never came back - possibly a hawk got her, since there are some in that area - leaving poor kitten hungry, alone, and frightened.

Anyway, I took the little kitten home and brought it into work with me the next day. My future mother-in-law had sworn by the fact that the kitten was female so I was calling "her" Charlotte - but of course, a quick check by one of her vets confirmed it was male. Oops! So his name is Hawke now He was surprisingly healthy for a feral-raised kitten, the only issue being the (assumed) worms. He's also extremely cuddly, always wanting to be up in my lap, rubbing on my face, and generally rolling around like the cutest ball of fluff you've ever seen. Too bad I didn't get a picture of him sleeping with his chin resting on my keyboard, but I do have some pics to share...


The typical kitten sleeping cutely photo...


Playing with his "surrogate sibling"


Nom, McDonald's )

Now I swore to myself I'd only foster Hawke, but my fiancee is already becoming extremely attached to him. How the tables have turned - usually I'm the one begging him to let me get a snail, kitten, puppy, etc - but now he's trying to convince me that this kitten was "meant to be ours" lol!

[Miyon]

But it's so cute, if course you have to keep him

[zedxrgal]

People do not choose their kittehs, the kittehs choose them!
I agree this kitty was meant to be in your life.
He's so cute!

[Lupis]

Oh that's such a beautiful cat! You must keep him! (It's up to you of course, but he looks very happy. )

[nirvana]

My only concern with keeping him is quality of life - we do already have 2 kitties and live in an apartment, sometimes tensions can run high if cats feel they don't have enough space.

We'll see though.

[nirvana]

Thought I'd leave an update...little Hawke has been doing very well, has had 0 accidents and seems to sleep through the nights in his little box pretty well. Was expecting to lose some sleep over crying, but haven't lost a wink

He's met my other kitties and seems to have taken to them pretty well. He loves sleeping near my fiancee's deaf white female, Trouble, and playing with my black-and-white medium hair, Sir (albeit a bit too roughly for my nerves to handle). He definitely feels like one of the family, but has yet to meet my landlord, so I have no idea how she'll react to us having a third cat around. It may decide if he's staying temporarily or forever.

[Litlemouse]

*crosses fingers for you*

[Lotusii]

Oh my, he's so handsome! He also looks very happy to me, I hope he can stay with you.

[Ket Shi]

Whether you can keep Hawke or not, you've done a good thing. Just look at how friendly and content he is!

[nirvana]

Hawke stole a plastic fork from me yesterday and apparently loves to chew on it. I've decided to let him keep it, though I'm baffled as to why he'd rather play with a 5 cent fork than the multitude of toys laying around the apartment.

That's cats for you

[Ashaine]

Aww. He's adorable! A few years ago I took in a stray kitten, which brought my household total to three cats as well. You'll have to keep us informed. I definitely hope you are able to keep him.

[Boven]

Hawke stole a plastic fork from me yesterday and apparently loves to chew on it. I've decided to let him keep it, though I'm baffled as to why he'd rather play with a 5 cent fork than the multitude of toys laying around the apartment.

That's cats for you

Yeah, give 'em a fancy flashy cat toy and they ignore it, but one of those twisty things off a loaf of bread or that plastic ring from a milk bottle = BEST TOY EVAR!

One of my cats actually did seem to enjoy 'official' cat toys, or at least enjoyed scattering them around the apartment when I was at work or asleep. Maybe she just liked watching me gather 'em up and put 'em back into her toy box.

I really miss having cats.

[nirvana]

I've never lived without a cat o_O I think I'd probably go insane, as frustrating as it can sometimes be shooing them from my headset cord and/or having my leg painfully climbed.

[Kalliope]

Did you get to keep this lil' guy?

[Rhapture]

They always love to play with things that they are not meant to have. Every time I move my sofa I find my kittens treasure trove of bottle tops, milk rings, pen caps, paper clips and anything else she happens to find while I am sleeping. The funniest one was the candy cane she stashed from the holidays. I hope you get to keep your little fluff ball of mischief!

[TygerDarkstorm]

What an adorable kitten! He's super cute. ^_^

My cat's obsession is boxes. She'll play with her toys some when she hasn't hidden them somewhere and then forgotten where, but she really likes boxes. And sleeping on my pillow. -_-

[Boven]

I've never lived without a cat o_O I think I'd probably go insane, as frustrating as it can sometimes be shooing them from my headset cord and/or having my leg painfully climbed.

We always had cats when I was growing up. I ended up with 3 of them when I was out on my own. One I'd planned for, the other two were strays in need of help. The third one was a little 3 week old black kitten someone had abandoned in the parking lot at the store where I worked. My coworkers knew I was a pushover so as soon as I got to work they showed me the kitten. On my lunch hour I took her to the vet for a checkup. The vet warned me she'd probably need bottle feeding but offered her some canned cat food. She tore right into it. Every year on what we figured was her birthday, I'd give her canned 9 Lives Sliced Beef in Gravy, since that's the food that she had at the vet that first day.

Katie outlived my other two cats and was a few months shy of turning 19 when she died. Not bad for a kitten left out in the world when she was so young.

Katie was the official mascot for the Zul'Gurub raid I was in way back when it was a new and tough place. During a raid one night as we were about to go after a boss, Katie walked up and stood by my chair meowing her head off at me. I guess she heard me talking on TS and figured that I must be talking to her. The other raid members heard her and thought it was cute. Every raid after that I made sure to get Katie to come over and talk for the raid. Sometimes I'd translate for her "...Kate says the way to beat the spider boss is to bat it around until its legs fall off and make sure it doesn't get away under the fridge..."

When she died, it really crushed me. I sometimes think about getting another cat, but I just don't know if I could handle losing one again. I figure if I'm meant to have a cat again, one will show up in my life the way Katie did.

[nirvana]

So, we've had Hawke about three weeks now, making him roughly 3 months old. Our landlord hasn't said a word about him, which generally with her gives consent (she chooses to simply say nothing rather than bringing up the topic, since her husband isn't particularly fond of cats). Therefore I'm 90% positive we're gonna keep him

[Sookie]

Gahhh I want a cuddle bug!

[Sukurachi]

My husband and I already had a large dog and a (also) large cat.
Two years ago, we were kept up every night for nearly a week by loud meowing outside.
Finally, we managed to find the cat. It was a 5-6 week old, malnourished all-black kitten.
We had no intention of keeping him... and of course, you can imagine how THAT went.

He's my baby. He's two years old now, and absolutely the most affectionate thing on this planet. He makes the dog look like an antisocial hermit.

As someone earlier posted in this thread: the kitteh chooses you. Enjoy it, it's a gift from the universe when a beautiful creature like this chooses to spend its life with you.

I hope things will go well for you and your new adoptee.