06/16/2025
Two and a half weeks ago we took in a litter of newborn kittens. Their mom was a feral cat who someone brought inside and they hadn’t gotten her fixed yet. Unfortunately, this person also had a male cat who was not neutered and they did what cats do. The litter of five was immediately abandoned by mom - or so we are told. The kittens had to be taken to the vet because their umbilical cords were all tangled. We were told the vet fed them cold, but so did the “caretaker”. We almost immediately lost Honey, the weakest little girl. And a couple of days later Darling was humanely euthanized at the vet because nothing we were doing was helping him. He was suffering and we couldn’t let that continue. And then we find out mom passed. No outward cause seen and we were told no symptoms. The other three were so difficult to predict. One minute everything would be okay, the next it wasn’t, and back and forth it went. Over the weekend we lost our last little boy Muse. He was cuddled up to his sisters when he passed. Today we let Lilith go. We were so hopeful she would turn a corner for the better, but she was struggling so much. Her bottle feeder held her on her chest as she purred and took her last breaths. And now, we are down to one. Sweet Clementine has been the most rambunctious one since the beginning. We hope her spirit keeps her going.
This is what kitten season is. Their bottle feeder has gotten next to no sleep putting in blood, sweat, tears, love and hope into these kittens for almost three weeks. And even with all of that + vet intervention it was not enough. Kitten season isn’t cute. Kitten season is hard. It is sad. It is painful. It should be a reminder to fix as many cats as you can so this suffering can be prevented. We take comfort in believing that Honey, Darling, Muse and Lilith have all been reunited with their mama over the rainbow bridge 🌈