Abandoned Kitten

bengalcatman

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This is a bit of a long story; there are lots of small details and background. I am going to write this in installments.

Last week I was taking our Bengal Makena for a morning walk. We were taking a wooded path that leads to our field when Makena hesitated and looked toward the road. I stopped and could hear faint kitten cries....

Makena on his leash for a hike

Makena is athletic and active, we usually walk him every day to get rid of excess energy. We have two Bengals. The second Bengal, Lilia, is timid and shy having had some trauma in her past. Both were rescues with behavioral issues, though they are now very well adjusted and happy. My wife and I have talked about getting another cat, but our house is small and the two we have are a bit of a handful. Still, I have wanted a kitten for some time. We talked about another hybrid, but decided the initial cost and the commitment of care would be too much. We talked about a regular cat, but decided to wait and think it over.

Makena is not allowed near the road, so I tied his line to a tree and pushed through the brush toward the noise. Down in the underbrush I could see the outline of a light colored kitten, all by itself, now silent. We have seen a feral mom several times lately, and I figured she had stashed the kitten here while she went off to hunt. I went back to Makena to finish our walk and thought no more about the kitten.

We did not plan on getting a full grown Bengal. Our last cat had passed away from a seizure disorder and we took time to debate what we wanted next. We decided to get a Bengal kitten. Fate had a slightly different plan. I was at work one day taking a break and researching local breeders when a colleague walked by and saw what I was looking at. "Oh, so you guys decided on a Bengal? We have a friend who can't take care of hers anymore and is looking to re-home it." A few days later we had an angry, unruly, overactive full grown Bengal stomping around the house..... he was anything but a kitten. With love and patience, we healed his angry and broken heart. Makena became a highly intelligent, gentle and obedient member of our home.

Three years passed and we had just started talking about getting a second Bengal (I was getting a kitten this time!) when our vet called. We dearly love our vet, she was instrumental in helping us get Makena settled in..... Our Vet had a client who passed away, leaving behind a sweet but heartbroken Bengal. Since we did so well with helping Makena, she wondered if we might be interested in giving Lilia a home.

At the vets office, Lilia clung to my wife and cried. We couldn't say no.

My wife holding Lilia at the Vet's office



Okay, now that you know what saps we are, we can get back to the kitten. It was now nearly midnight and I was just getting settled into bed. Because my wife had to get up early to go to work, I was going to sleep in the spare room with Makena. The bed in this room is right up against the wall and level with the window sill there. We leave the window open a little most of the time. Makena sleeps on the bed with his big brown nose pressed to the window screen. If he hears a noise or sees anything odd, he will wake us up. As usual, I was petting Makena and fell asleep with my hand on his back. Makena woke me with a soft meow. I could hear it too.... a slight rain had begun, and a kitten was crying loudly in the woods.

I threw on my pants and jacket, grabbed a flashlight, and headed to where I had seen the kitten earlier. I pushed through the wet brush again, and this is the little face I saw in the light...



The blue eyes were fierce, and the kitten let out a hiss as I quickly grabbed it by the scruff. The claws flew every which way and it tried to bite anything nearby. I pressed the wet kitten into my jacket, and headed back to the house. The kitten had been outside in the same spot for more than 16 hours. Kitten looked to be about 4 -5 weeks old and was wet and shivering. Outside the temp was dropping and the wind was beginning to pick up.

Will continue the story tomorrow.
 
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orange&white

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:kneading: Looks like you finally got your kitten! :cutecat:

Looking forward to hearing about what is certain to be an exciting adventure!
 

abyeb

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I'll be following this thread. You are such a wonderful cat parent. Makena and Lilia are the epitomes of Bengal beauty and athleticism, and that little kitten's face is as sweet as can be. He's still young, so he should be socialized fairly quickly and become a wonderful new friend for you and the Bengals!
 
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bengalcatman

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I dried the little kitten off, and it began to calm down a little. Still, the razor teeth and needle claws were at the ready. I carried kitten upstairs to my sleeping wife, gently waking her I said "looks like we have a guest."

As my wife cradled her and talked to her, the kitten lost interest in lashing out. As kitten warmed up and got cuddled, I found a 10ml syringe with a long plastic tip in my workshop. Kitten quickly drank 10ml of milk, then with a little coaxing, drank more out of a small dish. I know milk isn't the best for kittens, but dehydration was the immediate concern.

After the milk - kitten decided we were not so bad and all pretense of a fight was gone. Kitten cooperated as we checked her over. Around her eyes we noticed black spots and to our dismay, we discovered they were tiny ticks. With a magnifying glass and a tweezer - I pulled 15 ticks off.

We gave kitten a little more milk and by time kitten finished the milk, kitten could not keep its eyes open. We opted to quarantine kitten in our bathroom until certain it had no disease. We fashioned a sleep basket out of cut up box and a small towel, then made a small litter box.

In the back corner of the empty bathroom closet, kitten curled up in the basket to sleep

My wife and I looked at each other with a "did we just get a third cat?" look and decided to talk about plans for the kitten the next day.

The next morning I made an afternoon appt with our vet and the went out to get some kitten milk... The kitten milk was a BIG hit!

Kitten got a clean bill of health, but it was recommended that we keep quarantine for 60 days and recheck. And with the vet's confirmation, "it" became "she." We left the office with a bag of kitten food, deworming meds, a small blue crinkle ball, a tiny felt mouse and a squirmy little girl kitten.

We had everything we needed..... except for a name and a decision on what to do with her.

The next day she was recovered from being left out. She was loving, playful, happy and sweet..


Provided that our Bengal Makena would tolerate her, we decided to give her a home.

Her name is June Bug




I think she is a little doll.

My wife is infatuated with her...


It seems wrong to us to shut away a kitten for 60 days, but we won't risk infecting our other cats. So we are working on a plan to get her out and make sure she develops normally...

More tomorrow....
 

abyeb

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June Bug is a beauty for sure! I absolutely love the picture of her licking your hand.
 

orange&white

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Awww! She is a little doll. :lovecat: Looks like she's 5-7 weeks old. So precious!
 
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bengalcatman

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Her eyes are starting to come in yellow-golden with the "baby" blue rings still around the outside of the irises.
Its funny how her eye color changes with lighting. In some light her eyes appear dark blue, other times bright blue. But over the week we have had her, there is definitely green/gold starting to show.

We hate keeping June Bug quarantined all by herself in the bathroom. So we get her out several times a day into the yard to play.




At first she would not let us get even a few feet away without mewing loudly, but now as she has become more comfortable, she wanders off a few feet on her own to explore.

My camera bag proved to be a really interesting place to play


Until she decided that it would be more fun to come and play with me




On nice evenings my wife and I often sit by our pond and talk. We usually bring Makena along and latch his retractable lead to a tree, he sits with us or pokes around by the water. We decided to start bringing June Bug along too so she could get out and to let Makena become used to her.


Makena listens very well and we simply tell him to "stay away" from June Bug. He keeps a few feet away and has shown only mild curiosity toward the tiny kitten. Makena is a more puzzled by not being allowed to get to close to whoever is holding June Bug: he is used to coming around for the occasional ear scratch or pat on the head.

For her part, June Bug is fascinated by the large, graceful and aloof spotted cat... especially his constantly swishing tail. When she is out of quarantine, pouncing on Makena's tail will doubtless be high priority. I suspect ensuing calamity that will make her think twice before pouncing a second time :lol:

My wife won't tell me what June Bug was saying to her here. Not sure I should trust those two....



In the week that we have had June Bug, she has developed quite a bit. A week ago she could jump off something but her landings looked more like crashes, now she can actually land on her paws without tumbling. Watching her grow and develop is truly a joy.

 

mazie

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What a lovely, unfolding story. She is such a doll, and the name June Bug suits her so well. Thank you so much for sharing your family's adventure here. We look forward to its continuation. How is the female Bengal reacting to your family's new addition?
 

dustydiamond1

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:hellocat: Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, really looking forward to the next installment. So cool to see all the great pics of your lovely family. June Bug is a terrific name. The photo of Lilia clinging to your wife brought tears to my eyes and I wanted to cuddle her too. How is she taking to June Bug? Nice harness on Makena. We take our girl out in a sturdy walking jacket. She is an ex-neighborhood stray and although she has adapted well to being an indoor only cat I didn't want to take any chances with her deciding to make a break for it. Your photos and story are fantastic. Thanks again. :wave3: :catrub:
 
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bengalcatman

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......How is the female Bengal reacting to your family's new addition?
.....How is she taking to June Bug?
We have shown June Bug to Lilia, and Lilia has had no reaction other than to stare and back away. This is gonna take some time and patience for all concerned.

Lilia is a very timid cat. I suspect she was very strongly bonded to her original owner. When that owner passed away, Lilia was devastated and carries those scars still. Lilia likes being petted and snuggling with us, but any new person/thing/situation terrifies her. Lilia was introduced to Makena slowly over several weeks. Makena is literally twice her size and strength and he is careful not to scare or hurt her when they play. Hopefully June Bug will win her over.

Lilia and Makena napping together


Makena is the exact opposite of Lilia. Bold, confident and curious: he is not scared of much. Lilia and Makena are two extremes of the breed and we are dearly hoping that June Bug will be somewhere in the middle!


 
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