Little black kitten... I hope you're okay.

[callista]

The other day I was coming home from shopping, dragging my grocery cart, when I saw a tiny black kitten under a car. It was maybe six to eight weeks old, and I had no idea if it was feral or somebody's lost pet; so I called softly, hoping that it would trust me enough to come out. It didn't. It got so spooked that it ran into the drainpipe that runs from an apartment building to the curb--a drainpipe maybe four inches in diameter, just big enough for a tiny kitten.

So I got out my flashlight and looked inside. The kitten was wedged into the drainpipe, which was blocked by a big clump of mud and dead grass. I had no idea if the little thing could wiggle out again. And the rain was coming.

What could I do? I put on some gloves and reached in after the kitten, and barely got hold of its back leg to pull it gently out. It seemed to be stuck somehow; but it finally wiggled free. When I got it out of the drainpipe, it panicked and bit me several times through the glove. I tried to get a better hold on it, to grab hold of its scruff or wrap my coat around it; I was so scared I was going to hurt its little leg, holding it like that. But holding onto a scared and possibly feral kitten is tough, especially if you are wearing gloves, and the little one broke free and dashed away across the parking lot. I caught a glimpse of it near another building, but nothing after that.

I searched for a long while, and had a chat with a woman who lived in the apartment building. She had her beagle with her on a leash, and said she had seen the black kitten earlier that day and tried to lure it out. At least there is another animal person nearby.

I went home and scrubbed the bites thoroughly. They're healing now. That's a good thing; cat bites are serious business.

There are a lot of thoughtless college students around here who will adopt a cat, then dump it when they can't keep it for some reason or another. That leads to a visible feral population. I don't know whether this kitten was feral or just scared out of its mind; I think I would be scared, too, if I had run into a drainpipe and been pulled out of it by a total stranger. I do know I'll probably never be able to catch it again. We don't have a TNR program in this area.

I still feel so guilty--I should have held on longer; I should have been faster trying to wrap my coat around it; I should have gotten help. But it did seem like a very energetic, wily little thing. Perhaps it will survive. I hope so.

 

[catmom5]

Is there any way you could go back to that area and set a trap for the kitten? I'd hate to think of someone that tiny trying to survive on his own.

 

[callista]

It's close to impossible--It's not my apartment complex, nor do I know the apartment manager. I don't have a car, so I'd have to somehow bike to the humane society to retrieve a trap and bring it back tied to the bike; and since I'm not a volunteer at the humane society in this area, they wouldn't know I wouldn't just take the trap and sell it for scrap. There are quite a few stray cats around here, many of them full-on feral. It's highly unlikely I'd catch the one I was looking for. And if I caught a different cat, that might be the only time the cat would ever fall for the trap; so I'd want to take it and get it neutered, at the least.

So... no, I don't think it's possible. Not without starting a TNR program single-handedly. I don't have that kind of skill; I have a hard enough time just working up the courage to make a phone call, let alone try to organize that many people.

The only chance I have is if, while walking past the place, the kitten comes out of hiding and literally lets me catch it. And that would be a miracle.

 

[bastfriend]

What a tough situation!  Would it be possible for you to go by this place and just sit a while in the area where you saw the kitten quietly - bring some food in a zip lock in your pocket to offer in case you see it?   If you make the initial connection and then come back a few more times maybe some options might become possible....maybe someone in a local cat organization might be willing to work with you to if they knew the story.   Good luck!

Another thought....since it is an apartment complex there will be mailboxes where you could put a flier up at saying "kitten in trouble" and get people who've seen the kitten to contact you about where it was last seen.  

 

[callista]

Yes, I walk by every day on my way to school and back. If the kitten is out and about, I'll probably see it. I just wish I knew whether it was fully feral. A feral kitten would have a better chance; a lost pet, I can't hold out much hope for.

BTW: The bites were superficial and are healing without inflammation--should I still get a tetanus booster? I had my last one nine years ago.

 

[feralvr]

AW hun. Don't be hard on yourself and say the "should haves". Those kittens can be fiercely strong and aggressive. You saved it from being stuck in that drain pipe and sustained bite wounds in the process. You were very brave. I would go ahead and get that tetanus shot. :nod: We all should have one at least every ten years anyway.

I do hope this little black kitten will survive and I suspect there are many other cats that you did not see. A drain pipe is a popular place for feral cats to live and hide out. I wish someone could report the cats to a TNR organization in the hopes that someone from the organization will take charge of trapping and releasing the probable feral colony that lives in that area. It is possible that someone abandoned the little one though. But in my experience of drain pipes and feral cats, I think there are more. :shame:

 

[mrblanche]

I had a similar experience earlier in the year.  I saw a kitten at a truck dock.  I found it and got my hand on it, but it escaped and I couldn't find it again.  I went back twice more in the next week, but never saw him again.

 

[tx_kat]

I've had a few of those kittens. I just pray that they'll be okay,

 

[feralvr]

I had a similar experience earlier in the year.  I saw a kitten at a truck dock.  I found it and got my hand on it, but it escaped and I couldn't find it again.  I went back twice more in the next week, but never saw him again.

I remember that, Mike..... :shame: Hard to forget.

 

[callista]

Do you happen to have any directories of TNR organizations? I'm in Ohio (US), near Dayton. I might not be able to start one up myself, and I don't have much money, but I can certainly set traps and check them, feed cats, or keep an eye on a cat recovering from a spay. I've done that kind of thing before. Maybe somebody else would be willing to do the actual organizing-of-people necessary to get the ferals around here TNR'd. It would make them healthier, less of a nuisance, generally nicer to be around. I don't mind the ferals, but I know some people do, especially if they dig in the flower beds.

I know for sure nobody is managing them, because I have never seen a feeding station, a shelter, a trap, or an ear-tipped cat, and the cats are all pretty skinny. I'd really like there to be less--or none--like this kitten I met, growing up outside in the cold and without medical care like that.

I was out there walking around yesterday, keeping an eye out for the kitten; and I saw this pretty orange cat with a heart-shaped tag on a collar, patrolling along the edge of a house. I couldn't get close enough to check the collar (and haven't seen any lost-cat ads on the telephone poles). I guess it must have been an outdoor cat; it seemed pretty comfortable, not like a lost cat slinking and hiding. I can't believe there are people around here stupid enough to let their cats out. There's the highway, the drunk frat boys, pesticides and antifreeze. We domesticated them; we have the responsibility to take care of them.

 

[mrblanche]

There is a worse part to my story, although it might not be strictly related.

Apparently, someone was dumping a LOT of kittens in that area at that time.  My wife takes a water aerobics class at a gym just a block or so away from there.  She came out and found a woman from a local rescue trying to entice some kittens into a carrier.  She said that earlier in the week, she had counted 16 kittens there.  She was trying to trap them, and the manager of the fitness club had confronted her and told her he was tired of the kittens hanging around.  When she came back, there were only four kittens left, and she saw the body of at least one of the kittens thrown into the dumpster.  She believed from her talk with the manager that he was actively poisoning them.  I reported it to Animal Control, but, of course, without any proof there wasn't much they could do.
 

 

[callista]

That's horrible! And you're sure he poisoned them--the kittens didn't just die of disease or exposure?

Does your wife happen to have any friends in that fitness club? She could probably talk them into switching clubs. See how the owner likes it when he realizes people prefer not to do business with somebody who poisons stray cats.

 

[jcribbs]

There is a worse part to my story, although it might not be strictly related.

Apparently, someone was dumping a LOT of kittens in that area at that time.  My wife takes a water aerobics class at a gym just a block or so away from there.  She came out and found a woman from a local rescue trying to entice some kittens into a carrier.  She said that earlier in the week, she had counted 16 kittens there.  She was trying to trap them, and the manager of the fitness club had confronted her and told her he was tired of the kittens hanging around.  When she came back, there were only four kittens left, and she saw the body of at least one of the kittens thrown into the dumpster.  She believed from her talk with the manager that he was actively poisoning them.  I reported it to Animal Control, but, of course, without any proof there wasn't much they could do.
 

omg.........  I am a firm believer in karma and that how we choose to live our lives will come back to us eventually.  That is the only way I can emotionally deal with the cruelty in the world such as what you describe.  It's just too horrible for words.