Imgur user arthisbeapirate had heard stories of people finding abandoned kittens and nursing them back to health–but then they experienced it first-hand. One day, they found three kittens in a huddle, tucked deep in the brush.
Posted the kitten rescuer:
“One night, my neighbor and I noticed what sounded like strange baby birds chirping in a bush at our apartment complex. After a little investigation, jackpot… kittens!”
They took the babies to the vet. As they picked them up from the brambles, they made a shocking discovery: the kittens were still attached to their umbilical chords, and they were all tangled together! Then, a surprise: a short distance away, they found a fourth kitten.
At the vet, the trio of babies were freed from their umbilical cord, but one passed away during the process.
The rescuers were then faced with a decision: take the newborns to a shelter, where they would most likely be euthanized, or take them home and provide ’round the clock care, themselves, keeping them warm and bottle feeding them all day and night.
“It was an easy decision really – bring on the bottles!”
The user fed them every two hours, while their neighbor stopped by to care for them while they were at work. They were kept warm with a hot water bottle and electric blanket at all times.
But despite all their effort, the remaining two that were connected with the chord never improved–and sadly, they passed away. The fourth kitten was the lone survivor.
Though exhausted and heartbroken, the arthisbeapirate didn’t give up hope.
“Since there was only the one left, the vet suggested putting a stuffed animal in the carrier for some company so I donated the only one I had – a tauntaun (which seemed appropriate).”
The kitten continued to improve, and started exploring before opening its eyes. The vet determined that it was a girl. The tiny kitten began to grow…
“Banana for scale.”
“Since she was the only survivor of her litter I decided on Ripley, in honor of the ultimate badass survivor – Eleanor Ripley.”
“One of the coolest things was watching her go from a shaking little alien creature to developing normal cat behaviors.”
“Tauntaun continued to be a faithful companion/sparring partner.”
“As she grew, her explorations led to some tight situations…”
“…and bad habits.”
“Eventually it came time for her to be spayed, which of course meant THE CONE OF SHAME. Needless to say, she wasn’t very happy about it.”
“But she bounced back quickly!”
“Though her bouts with tauntaun became fairly lopsided, she still likes to wrestle with him.”
“If Ripley fits…”
“…yet she can also pull it together to look like a civilized cat when she feels like it.”
“Ripley just celebrated her first birthday and is still going strong.”
“She was made an unexpected entry into my life, and while it’s definitely been challenging at times getting to this point, I’m glad we found each other!”
All pictures and quotes from arthisbeapirate. See the original story, “The Ballad of Ripley,” on Imgur.
