I never named her but the first time I met her, I was taking trash out to the dumpster and she jumped out of it. I screamed like the biggest punk in the world that day. I don’t know if she was pregnant then but, later, my neighbors told me that she had kittens. No one knew where the kittens were but they must have been around my building because she was always lurking there.
I don’t know if I have bad luck or what but I hate cats but I did work as a vet tech for a while and had a certificate to do some many moons ago. I am allergic to cats. I found out in the “kitten room”. Now I have a cat, Cutie, that sleeps beside me on a pillow every night and is watching me type this as we speak.
Anyhow, once I found out that Ms. Dumpster Cat was a mom, I felt that I needed to help her feed her babies. I didn’t want her eating out of the trash trying to nourish her babies so I started feeding her Cutie’s food (don’t tell Cutie, she would freak out). It was some good, holistic stuff.
One day, when I was picking up the empty can, I looked to my left and saw the kittens. FIVE of them. She hid them so well, no one knew where they were. They were safe from the elements and hard to reach (I’ll get to that part later). Anyhow, as I went to get up from picking up the can that I fed her, I slipped in the mud and sprained both my ankles badly. This was June the 23rd. I got so hot that I sat there in the mud for a minute. You see, I was going to take a bag to the trash and go to the store. I had plans for that day. I was gonna clean the whole apartment and all that. Nope! Nope! I took my behind in the house (after limping to the dumpster), went in, and put my feet up.
I knew I was going to have to get them checked out so I went to urgent care where I received some drugs and was told to stay off my feet while keeping ice on my ankles. I did a number on myself. Whose fault was it? Mine. But whatever.
Crybaby Neighbor
Now, most of the people in the building knew of the cat because she’d just be around chillin. She wasn’t too scared of people and she hated Gary (my German Shepherd) but she didn’t bother anyone. I wanted to make sure she and her kittens could be out of the elements though so I called Animal Control and I wasn’t cool with how they talked about getting the cats. They would have to get them all or euthanize them. Not on my watch.
So one day, my neighbor that is scared of absolutely EVERYTHING (she admitted it) saw me picking up a can that I had left Dumpster Cat. So she’s like “I called Animal Control and they said that someone can come get them. They told me to call the manager. I have their number.” I told her I would call them. It turned out to be the same folks talkin bout euthanizing them and I wasn’t having that at all. Not on my watch.
Why did the neighbor want the cat gone besides her being a scaredy cat? Well, her daughter has asthma and she told the management office that either the cat died or her child was going to die. Now, this pissed me off. Here’s why: The cat is OUTSIDE of the building. The kittens are deep down beside the building and can’t even get out. I sat there and watched them. SHE goes and nurses them and then comes out. Those kittens weren’t going to hurt a soul. So I was pissed about that. BUT, how is your child so asthmatic but lives in a building where people smoke weed and you can smell it every day? So I was pissed about that.
I resolved that I was getting those kittens outta there. I sent an inbox to Last Chance Animal Rescue (where I got Gary) and asked them what I could do. At first they said I would have to catch them all but then, when I sent them a pic of the kittens alone, they said that they could separate from their mom and to bring them in. I didn’t want to do that to the mom. I mean, I’m a mom and cats probably don’t care but I do. And I knew they would do for the mom and the kittens (they spay and neuter animals before they adopt them out). So I was just chillin and I said “I’m going to get all these animals and take them away from here before crybaby has the people come”.
Management said they weren’t calling anyone on the cats because it was inhumane and the cats weren’t bothering anyone so I had them on my side at least.
Caught Em All
I got my cat’s carrier and put some food in it. I was sittin there waiting for the mom to go in so I could trap her but she went down into where the kittens were and yelled at me when I snapped the pic you guys see. I was like “Okay, but I’m going to catch you.” Mind you, my ankles are still messed up but I’m an animal lover and I don’t want anyone to die for no reason.
She came out and was toying around with the carrier but wanted to annoy me. I had on a hoodie. So I took it off, stuffed my keys and phone in my bra, and snatched her up and stuffed her in the carrier. She didn’t make a sound. I think she was just tired. I know I would have been and it was going to get really hot soon (not like she knew that or anything). So I put her in my air conditioned car and proceeded to get on my stomach to reach allllll five of those cats who were hissing and spitting at me. But I got them all.
Last Chance Animal Rescue (LCAR)
I took them to the animal rescue (after I inboxed my boss that I had caught them and wasn’t lying) and the people were so happy to see them. They started pulling them out one by one and playing with the mom. They said the kittens looked to be 4 weeks old and they were well fed. Mom, on the other hand, had given all she had to her five babies and was skin and bones. I signed all the paperwork and found out that they were going to be fostered by a girl named Melissa. Melissa is already fostering 19 cats. Once they are all about 8 weeks old, they will go to adoption events and find new homes. Mom will be spayed and the kittens will be fixed as well (I have no clue what their sex was). I wish I could post a live I did where I introduced all of them but they were the cutest. I told the mom that she had done a phenomenal job and pat her head. There was one kitten that didn’t take its eyes off me the whole time while I sat and waited to process them into the rescue. Beautiful kitten. Mom had some scrapes on her face because she’s a scrappy thing but she was so calm. The vet techs were very surprised at how calm she was.
I will be checking up on them as one of my friends wants one (or two). So I will find out where they will be and we will go pick one up. They are the cutest and this pic does them NO justice whatsoever. I was just happy to help. I came in the house, doused my clothes in water and soap and washed my hair though. I had spiderwebs and leaves in my hair and was dirty. But those babies will find homes and be healthy. I’ll take that any day.
Thanks for reading. 🙂
Rantings of a Mad Woman 