Kittens!

I think that one corner of our garage is destined to have a box with baby animals. No sooner did I get the brooder box out of there when I had to set up the storage tub that used to be the Little Deuce Coop to house four orphan kittens.

Yup....cutest little things you'll ever see!

Four days ago, G.W. and I, on different occasions, found one or more of these very small babies out alone, wandering around a neighbor's house and barn. They were crying loudly, which is what alerted us to them. No mama cat in sight. They're too little to be out unsupervised and were so vulnerable to a fox or crow. 

Three days ago, when I heard them crying again, I called a different neighbor (Maria) about them. She told us that a feral/barn cat had had a litter in the first neighbor's barn. She hadn't seen the mama cat in several days and was worried something had killed it.

Yesterday afternoon, when the tiny kittens were still alone, still crying frantically, and now in dire danger of either starvation or being killed by a predator, Maria and I took action. 

We spent hours crawling around some guy's junk-filled barn trying to round up the kittens. I don't want to think about what I must have been laying in while trying to reach into small spaces to get the babies. They were afraid of us and would dart around and hide in every inaccessible spot. 

We moved slowly when we could and with as much patience as we could muster considering the hot, dirty, icky conditions. 

They look to be maybe four weeks old. They're so thin you can feel all of their little bones. 

Last year, Maria had taken in seven kittens from a different feral cat. She said her husband would kill her if she brought in more, so I brought these little guys home. I knew G.W. would be OK with this, since he was as worried about the little ones as I was!

Over a period of a few hours, I gave them small servings of milk replacer. They were so hungry they practically attacked the bottle, but since they may have gone without food for three or four days, I kept each meal very small. They're so little they fit in the palm of my hand!

It didn't take them long to catch on to drinking their milk from a teaspoon, and then from a saucer. 

I used the brooder lamp from the chicks to help keep these darlings warm. They don't have much weight to them and I didn't want them to get chilled. They've been through so much already.

Yesterday evening, G.W. and I went to the Pike's Peak or Bust rodeo. I left early to feed the babies again. When I got home and looked into the tub, there was only one kitten in there! Crap! Who'd have thought they could jump that high! 

An hour later and after tearing apart the garage, I found the three missing babies. You can't imagine the places they found to hide in! Everybody was fine, thankfully!

This morning, they are doing well. They're eating canned kitten food from a saucer in addition to their milk replacer.

 All four are active although one is much more shy than the others. 

This is not the shy one!

I may have found a home for one, possibly two of these adorable little faces!  

For now, the babies will stay in the garage. Our house cat Piper wanted nothing to do with them. Our barn cat Elizabeth hissed and spit at them, too. 

They're going to outgrow their storage tub home very quickly. Does anyone near Denver or Colorado Springs have a really big box, like from a washer or dryer that I could have? They'll climb out of one of those doggie play pens, so what ever they're in needs to have high, smooth sides and/or a secure cover. 

I know I promised a post to introduce you to my flock of chickens. I haven't forgotten! I'll do my best to get that posted by Sunday. And I'll post lots more adorable kitten photos, too! 

Bye for now!