Current mood:

happy

Kitten Rescue II : Electric Boogaloo
Some of you may have been aware of Operation: Kitten Rescue ... the sequel just occurred..


Again, there was mewing. I heard it shortly after I arrived at work and off and on for the next couple of hours. Kevin joked that we should just look in the same spot as last time but it was a different mew sound really. So when I had the chance I once again donned gloves and wandered around.

This time, the kitten was under a different piece of machinery, one disused and covered in plastic sheeting and a very thick layer of dust. I couldn't see it but knew pretty well where it was. Jay was willing to lie on the disgustingly dirty floor to catch sight of it and tried to prod it out with a broom handle but it refused to move.

An hour or so passes and during a lull I hear the mewing again so I decided to check on things. Lo and behold, the kitten had moved. Near the machinery there were several packing crates piled with 5' long sections of cardboard tubing which are used as the center of enormous spools of newsprint and the mewing was coming from behind these.

I slowly walked around the crates expecting to see a flash of dirty grey cat run for it's life and instead find what I would have taken for a tribble except it had a head. This kitten was truly a kitten. 5 weeks old. 6 maybe given the lack of food around the place. It made no effort to run as I scooped it up and carried it to our work area.

We found a box to keep it in until work ended and lined it with newspaper. A few leftover bits of McDonalds cheeseburger bun were wolfed down enthusiastically and some quick surgery on a Tim Horton's cup made for a little bowl which we filled with chicken soup. That was wolfed down with even more enthusiasm. Getting any work done proved troublesome when it was done eating as the kitten mewed piteously whenever I put it down.

We took the kitten to The Toronto Humane Society after work where I learned she was a she and between 5 and 6 weeks old. Undernourished but in good health. I also learned that there's a surprising amount of paperwork involved in dropping off a stray and that they use a webcam to take pictures of all the animals brought in as well as giving you a receipt so if you later decide to adopt the stray you brought in you're assured of getting the same animal back.

The kitten will be put in a foster home for 2 weeks or so, I was told, to get her weight up to where it should be. She will also receive her shots and have an ID chip implanted. Adopting her will cost $95. The nice man at the desk made a point of saying that I could take her right now for free if I wanted but the shots and chip were about $150 otherwise. Also, I'd rather be assured of her health and speak to my roommate before I take another cat home as we have 2 already.

Though.. She was very curious and playful for a stray and made an impression on me already. So unless the roommate has some tangible reason for objecting, I think I'll be adopting a cat in a couple of weeks.

I'm thinking of naming her Karma.