It was 1 AM and I was calmly sitting at the kitchen table with the book  holder in front of me, ending the day on a peaceful note before going to bed.  I had just finished reading some pages in the Bible and putting it aside, was switching over to the current novel.

Dring-dring-ring-ring!  It was the doorbell!

What in the world?  My husband was obviously asleep at that hour.  It had to be Security.  I went to the door and sure enough there was the night Security Guard with a raccoon trap in her hand.  There was a cat inside.

“Hi, Shirley, what do you have?”

“It’s ‘Flash’.  I finally caught her!”

I live at Meadow Lake, which is a Senior Living community, and there was this cat that had been hanging around the dumpsters that Shirley had noticed.  She had been feeding it for quite awhile on the nights when she was on duty.  It was feral and wouldn’t let her get near. As soon as the guard approached  she’d be off like a flash.  That’s how she got her name. However, the cat always seemed to know when she was working and would sit near the road to be seen whenever it would hear her truck.  She kept the food in the pickup.

As time wore on Shirley noticed she was getting bigger and figured she must be pregnant.  That’s when she decided to try to trap her.

“What am I going to do with her?” I asked.

I foster for the SPCA and already had a new cat in my study which I was trying to socialize to be adopted.

“I can’t put her in my study.”

“How about the Kitty Cabana?”

That’s a 10 x 10 covered enclosure I have outside for my own three cats.  I put them outside when the weather is nice.

“It’s been raining all weekend and it’s all soppy wet and partially flooded. We can’t put her in there.”

“So what do we do?” she asked. “If I release her she’ll never be caught again.  Now she’s trap savvy.”

“You’re right.  I don’t know what to do.  Tomorrow is Monday and that’s my volunteer day so I’ll be gone until around  8:00 at night.  She can’t be left in the trap all that time.”

“I guess the lesser of two evils is to put her in the Kitty Cabana and hopefully she’ll stay in the little cat house that’s in there to stay dry.”

I turned on the patio lights and we walked over to the Kitty Cabana.  It was all wet inside with about ¾ inch of standing water in some places.  We let her loose and quickly closed the gate.  She ran out and started to climb the chain link wall.  Realizing she couldn’t get out she settled down and we returned to the house. I went back with a bowl of food and put it inside the little cat house hoping she would go inside to eat it.

“I have to get back on duty,” Shirley said, as she started for the door.

“I’ll check on her before I go to bed.  On Tuesday I’ll contact the SPCA and see if they can help out,”  I told her as she was leaving.

The next morning I looked in on Flash and she was a muddy mess!  She had been trying to claw her way out.  I knew I couldn’t leave her like that so immediately got a bunch of boards and laid them around on top of the sodden grass.  Then I got some old rugs and towels and covered the boards.  At least now she had a lot of dry areas to walk on.

I was running late so hurried inside to change and get ready to leave.  I was on my way out when the lawn people came and started mowing our yard!  Flash became hysterical with the noise and started to climb the chain link again.  I couldn’t do anything because she was feral and I could have been hurt trying to calm her.  Thankfully, she ran into the little cat house and cowered in a corner.  At least she was safe and wouldn’t hurt herself.

I left as they finished the mowing and she remained in the little house.

When I came home late that day I went to check on Flash.  She had a small wound on her forehead, apparently from trying to escape.  There is a sort of cinder block short tower I built for the cats where they like to lay on top. She was laying between the blocks and the fencing.  I spoke to her gently and softly as I leaned over the blocks.  I lowered my hand and she growled and hissed.  I persisted and didn’t pull away. After a few minutes I touched her head briefly with my finger.  More hissing and growling but she didn’t swat or attack me.  That was a good sign. I brought her more food and left.

A couple of hours later I checked on her.  She ran behind the cinder blocks but at least she had eaten and it was dry with the towels.  She had dry mud on her fur but wasn’t wet.  I would call the SPCA the next morning to see what could be done with her.

The next morning it was bright and cheery as I went to check on Flash.  I was dismayed when I reached the Kitty Cabana because everything was soaking wet, the rugs, the towels, the litter box – everything!  The sprinkler system had gone off!  I couldn’t understand, they never run on a Monday night. I could have put up a protected tarp. I figured she had gone behind the cinder blocks and as I looked over I was shocked beyond belief!!  There she was, lying down all wet and muddy – nursing her wet kittens!!!  I had a horrible vision of her delivering the kittens while the sprinklers were pounding overhead!

I stood there frozen for a split second and then sprang into action!  I ran into the house,  grabbed a bunch of dry towels and returned to the enclosure.  I picked up each wet kitten, dried it off and put it aside on another dry towel. Unfortunately, one kitten didn’t make it.  I put it aside, tending to the others.  Then there was Flash.  She was growling and hissing the whole time, but didn’t move as I took the four nursing kittens away.  I kept speaking softly and then ventured to touch her.  She allowed me to do it.  She was sopping wet laying on top of the saturated towels covered with birth debris.  It was a mess.

I grabbed both ends of the towels with her on top and gently pulled them away.  Then I put a pile of clean dry towels in the same spot and put her kittens back on it.  Slowly I started to push her from her back and nudged her towards the kittens.  She got up and went to them.

 

I watched as she settled down and they started nursing again. I took all the soiled towels and threw them in the washing machine. Then I went to tend to the little one that didn’t make it.  I wrapped it in a paper towel and found a small pretty Christmas box and lined it with tissue paper.  Then I place the wrapped kitten in it.  I buried it in down in our Bird Sanctuary where the green ferns grow.

 

 

I knew I couldn’t keep Flash in the Kitty Cabana because the towels would soon be damp

 

 

again.  What to do?  Then it hit me all of a sudden.  A resident here at Meadow Lake had given me two Doggie Playpens to give to the East Texas SPCA.  I had donated one to a family who had gotten a small puppy but I still had the other one which was still in the box.  I kept forgetting to bring it to the SPCA.  Call it providence, but that was the answer.

I set it up in my study.  It was a pretty pink color and even had a netting cover.  It was perfect. It would keep my other foster away from them and I could be in the room most of the time.

 ‘Noggin’ was my current foster, an orange tabby teenager.  He was a December kitten and all the litters of that month were given Christmas food names.  His was short for eggnog.  Prior to him I had ‘Fruitcake’!  I promptly renamed her ‘Fruity’. With the countless kittens and cats and puppies and dogs that go through the SPCA it’s no wonder they have to revert to lively imaginations for names!

Now came the challenge, bringing the family inside.  I got a carrier lined with more towels and put the kittens inside.  I then started petting Flash and tentatively tried to pick her up.  She hissed and growled but didn’t resist.  So I picked her up all the way and put her into the carrier.  That was easy.  I began to wonder how feral was she really?

I had put a comfy bed, a litter box and a bowl of water in the doggie play pen. I put the kittens in the bed.  I left Flash in the carrier with the door open facing the opening in the enclosure, then left the room.   When I returned five minutes later she was in the bed nursing her kittens.

 

 

 

Finally, I was able to place the call to the SPCA.  No one was there!  It was “Giving Tuesday” and the staff and volunteers were all set up around town soliciting. I sent a text to the two administrators explaining the situation. About an hour later my cell phone rang.

It was Karen, who is the foster and volunteer coordinator. She told me  that we were on a conference call with Megan, the adoption coordinator.

“We got your text with the pictures.  She looks like a nice cat and we don’t have any kittens in the program with that color.  They should adopt easily. How feral is she.”

“To tell you the truth, I think she’s just a lot of noise.  She hasn’t been the least aggressive with me at all.  As I mentioned to you she’s been through a lot of trauma and it’s a wonder if she isn’t all stressed out!”

“In the picture one of the kittens looked like it had a stub tail.”

“I don’t think so, but I’ve been so concerned about getting them safe and warm I haven’t paid much attention.  I’ll check on it.”

“Is she still outside in the Kitty Cabana?”

“No.  I was able to bring her to my study and put her in a doggie playpen so no one can bother her.  She gets all hyper and hissy when Noggin goes by, though.”

“Nursing mothers are very protective and will get anxious when other cats are nearby.  Can you bring her in tomorrow so she can be checked out?”

“Yes.”

“We’re all out of fosters so are you willing to foster her and the kittens?  That would be the only way we could accept her.”

“Of course, that goes without saying!”

“Can you foster them long-term?” Megan interjected.

“Yes, indefinitely,” I answered.

“Of course, if she tests FELV positive we’ll have to figure something else out.  She won’t be able to stay with you because of your own cats,” Karen added.

“I understand.  We’ll see you tomorrow at 1:00. And hope for the best. Thanks.”

After the call I went and checked on the kittens.  Sure enough one of them did have a stub tail, but that wasn’t all!  It also had a club foot, one front paw missing a finger and the other paw missing all five fingers. The poor little kitten was truly handicapped.  I wondered what the SPCA would do with it. I named him Moxie.

Early that night, before she started her shift, Shirley came ringing on the doorbell.  She had been off duty Monday and Tuesday and was excited to see the kittens.  I had texted her when they were born.  She came in and made a big fuss over them.  She was very surprised when Flash let her be petted. All these weeks of feeding her and this was the first time she touched her. She was overjoyed when I told her the SPCA would accept her so long as I fostered her, which meant she would be staying at Meadow Lake.  Shirley was a very happy camper when she went off to start her shift!  She was a grandma!

In the meantime Noggin was having a hard time.  I had only had him for three days and was trying to socialize him to not be so shy.  He also had a tendency to nervous bite and I was just stating to break him of it.  He had bitten my husband twice and Roland would no longer go near the cat.  Being new with our house and now having a mother cat hiss and spit at him he buried himself in a cubbyhole in the tower and spent all his time in there, barely eating. I sent a text to Karen about his behavior and was instructed to bring him back when I came in with Flash and the kittens. She said that it was stressful for both of them and it would be best to leave her by herself, probably until the kittens were weaned.  I could work with Noggin later on.

The next day, around noon, I got a call from Karen.

“Marilu, I’m so sorry but Melissa was called away on an emergency and won’t be here the rest of the day.  Can you come in tomorrow at 2:30 instead?”  Melissa is the Medical Coordinator and Vet Tech.

“Sure, no problem.  They’re all safe and comfortable.”

Thursday I took all the felines to the SPCA.  Noggin was put in the cattery from where he had been and Melissa took Flash and the kittens.  The mother tested negative for FELV so that was great news!  The vet was taking a brief break between surgeries and was able to see them.  As for the little kitten with the deformities, they saw no problem with it for now.  They said that there was always an adopter willing to take on a special needs cat or kitten.  As for the club foot, it’s possible that it could be corrected.  At this stage the foot is just cartilage and bone will be forming later on. If the foot is massaged several times a day there is the potential that it can start to be trained to right itself.  When the bone begins to form the vet may help it along with some binding.  This will remain to be seen. That gave me hope and I am doing it several times a day.

As I write this, Flash and her babies are  cozily slumbering next to me.  This was a rescue in the nick of time with a shaky beginning but with a very happy ending. ~  Marilu Shellie

 

 

 

Updates will periodically be posted to follow Flash and her sweet family.