When two hikers stumbled upon some stray kittens on a sweltering day, they decided to stick around to see if the babies needed help.
“I was scouting trail for my running group when my friend and I heard little mews.
We looked around, and found a nest of kittens!” CwmMakesPeopleCryInScrabble wrote in a post on Imgur.
Knowing that the mama cat may be close by, they left the litter of four in their spot, along with some food. If they were going to rescue the family, they wanted to make sure that everyone was accounted for!
The next day, the two humans returned to the felines with a borrowed trap. The poster noted that the babies were friendly and easily caught, but Mama kept her distance. They were most likely strays (as opposed to feral cats) because the little ones showed no fear of humans, and their mother remained close by rather than completely out of sight.
That day, the rescuers took the kittens home while leaving the trap for Mama with the intention of reuniting the family in safety. For the next two days, they made the 2.5 mile hike in soaring temperatures to check on the trap. Finally, they caught the mother cat.
It wasn’t long before they noticed that there was something wrong with her eye, and she was likely in a lot of pain. She was brought to the vet for immediate attention.
“Unfortunately, she had foxtails in her eye and it was so bad the eye needed to be removed,” the poster wrote. After her surgery, they dubbed her One-Eyed Sally.
“The original plan was to re-release momma, but once she lost her eye we decided we needed to find her a place to go where someone can keep an eye (haha) on her,” the rescuer wrote.
“So while we wait, I gave her back her kittens (there are four kittens, currently named Eenie, Meenie, Miney, and Moe).”
Sally remained a bit skittish, and sought a safe hiding place under a bed. But she is showing signs of becoming more relaxed, eating treats out of her rescuer’s hand and allowing gentle scratches.
The new mom stopped producing milk and “seems to have dried up from stress.” So, her babies are getting healthy nourishment from a bottle.
Given the rescuer’s attention to the feline family, we’re sure that they will be vetted, spayed and neutered when the time is right.
Luckily, these little cuties – and their beautiful mom – now have a chance to be adopted into safe forever homes!
Wondering what to do if you stumble upon a litter of kittens? Check out 5 Things To Do If You Find Stray Kittens for helpful advice.
(h/t: CwmMakesPeopleCryInScrabble via Imgur)