kitten rescue

while on  my lunch break thursday, i spotted three small kittens emerging from the bushes on the edge of the parking lot of the queensbury, new york staples. they fled back into the security of the bushes as i approached, but as soon as i backed off they poked their heads out again. eventually i realized there were four of them, no more than a month or so old, and i called the spca on my cell phone and was advised that if i could grab them up, i should bring them to the local animal hospital.

a friend from work brought a can of catfood, and that got them a little braver about venturing forth, but we only ever got as close as nearly grabbing one of them, a little mostly-black one, before he leaped back into the cover of the bushes.

later that day, my wife brought more food to the scene after i told her where to find them, and she reported that the mother cat was there as well, and wary of her presence.

friday, home from work dealing with plumbers and electricians and hazmat teams (oh my), we took a break to grab lunch and my wife wanted to check on the cats again. we brought a can of food and our cat carrier that we use for our cat, chloe. putting an open can of food in the back of the carrier lured three of the kittens out of hiding while the mother cat was off by the nearby red lobster’s dumpster (ah-ha, i thought to myself, no wonder this is where they are).

we managed to get two of the kittens into the carrier (the third one bolted) as they wolfed down the can of cat food, and we drove them immediately to the nearby pet hospital as instructed by the spca. man, there were a lot of barking dogs at that hospital. i forgot how much i dislike the sound of dumb dogs barking loudly for no real reason.

my wife is concerned about the ultimate fate of the kittens we rescued, but i have to believe that with fall here and 40 degree nights a reality, they have to be better off than they would be facing an upstate new york fall and winter out there exposed to the elements, red lobster dumpster neearby or no.

tomorrow we’ll likely see if we can get the remaining kittens and their mother into the carrier and to the relative safety and security of the animal hospital. we’re told if they’re healthy (which the kittens appear to be, the mother not so much, and she in fact may very well be feral), they will be placed for adoption with a shelter in lake george.

the mother is calico, three of the kittens are various shades of orange and white, and the other one is black with some orange. they are all quite cute and look healthy to my untrained eye. i hope we did the right thing bringing in the ones we did, and i hope the others make it through tonight all right. it’s 41f degrees right now, and the forecast is calling for mid-30s. no weather to be outside all night, but bound to be much colder and more unpleasant than even that within a matter of a few weeks.