Stuart is now being cared for by two other volunteers, and I have the joy of taking care of Cassie.

My rescue colleague was put in contact with someone in Halifax County, near the border of North Carolina, looking for someone to take several litters of kittens. In addition to 13 some kittens from different litters, the lady had a feral mom with 3 kittens, estimated to be 3 weeks old.

My friend drove the 4+ hours to assess which cats would be ready for adoption, the condition of the cats, what further medical treatment might be necessary, etc. The kittens were all relatively healthy and well socialized.

When she arrived, the person informed her that mom had stopped feeding her kittens a week before. The kittens were at least beginning to eat wet food. The lady informed my friend that the feral mom had eaten two of the kittens. She found half eaten remains of the kittens. What puzzled my friend though was that the third kitten was still with mom. Why wouldn’t you  quickly remove the remaining kitten if mom isn’t taking care of them, and moreover, attacking them?

She immediately took the surviving kitten home with her. And by home with her, I mean home with me. Upon closer inspection, she is definitely older than 3 weeks. Possibly 4-5 weeks, as her blue eyes are now changing color.

Cassie was infested with fleas. Typical flea remedies, topical or oral, require the pet to be at least 6-8 weeks of age. When we receive animals that are too young, the best alternative is a Dawn bath. Using warm water with Dawn Soap, you have to submerge the animal up to it’s neck for 5-10 minutes. Two things are accomplished:

a) Dawn is able to crack the shell of fleas/eggs and drown them
b) The living fleas rush to the animal’s head, where you want to pluck and kill them.

My friend bathed her and combed 20+ from her before bringing her to my house. It’s bad enough when you think of an adult animal covered in fleas, but such a tiny body covered in so many fleas makes my heart wrench. I kept her in the bathroom, needing to bathe her again to make sure my cats wouldn’t get fleas. I felt so bad for having to do so, because she was an obviously needy cat. She cried when you left the bathroom, and tried to run out with you. When you spent time with her in the bathroom, she’d play or sleep in your lap. Two more Dawn baths and another 30 ish fleas killed, we finally let Cassie out of the bathroom.

She’s visited the vet and received dewormer, been combo tested, etc. We’ve had her for about a week so far. I’m in love with her. She’ll follow you around the house underfoot, play with you, cuddle with you. She’s a chatty kitty. She inexplicably likes to sleep on my husband’s backpack when it’s left on the floor by his desk. She’s really taken to my husband, and will play with him when he’s working from home.