Ashlyn’s story: The 3 no, make that 4 little kittens

What could be harder than being a stray cat? Being a stray cat with helpless, hungry kittens to feed and protect!

When we heard about Ashlyn she was living in a hole under a shed with 2 or 3 kittens.  Story was that she had been a wary stray for over a year.

She was a neighborhood fixture noticed by a few kind people who looked out for her. This young female was heavily courted thru the late spring and was now a mother to a hungry litter of kittens.

She lived up near a lake and it was noisy and active with dogs and people and so she searched for a quiet safe place and made a nest with leaves in a hole under a shed where she gave birth and cared for her little kittens.

It’s a tough life for a nursing mom who has to hunt for nourishment for herself and hurry back to feed her young and keep them warm and protected. But mom cats are smart and Mother Nature provided her with instincts. Her nest under the shed was cozy and well hidden from the world.

But the kittens were bored with their nest under the shed and old enough to explore. They were now toddling into unsafe areas and people were concerned so they called in the animal control officer who set a trap.

The people were worried that if the mother was considered feral she’d be killed if taken to a shelter, so they called Safe Haven Humane Society since we are NO KILL and we respect and protect ferals.

We told the ACO we’d take the mom and the kittens once trapped.

Ashlyn was trapped the next day and brought to us.

What about her kittens?

Instead of  keeping the kitten with mom, the ACO trapped the first one and dropped her off at the shelter — not Safe Haven!

That made us scramble as we believe in families staying together and her kittens  were under the age of 8 weeks. They need their moms! These kittens were less than 5 weeks old!

So we sprung  the kitten from the shelter and united her with her momma. What a dear scene that was. Lots of purring and licking and nursing going on.We named the little female Pixie.

Luckily the ACO trapped a second kitten the next day and brought him to Safe Haven.

Talk about happy!

Ashlyn grabbed him and licked him like a furry lollipop! He purred and licked momma back and got busy with nursing to make up for all the dinners he missed.

(I mean…talk about a Disney scene…we all said AWWWWWWW!!!! at the same time!! adorable!)

We worried about the 3rd kitten that was back at the lake in the dank, dark, damp hole under the shed.

And wouldn’t you know it? To add to our worry,  it rained AND the temperature dipped to 54!  The cold dampness and lack of nourishment could be a huge danger to the kitten, not to mention predators could attack it if it left the nest!

A phone call reporting a sighting of the kitten the next day eased our minds. She was still alive!

Then they dropped a big surprise in our laps.

They said “Guess what — a 4th kitten was there with her!” With the weekend coming the trap could not be monitored as frequently by the animal control officer. That did it for us. We couldn’t risk the kittens going without mom for 2 more days, so we packed up for a rescue trip to the lake!

We loaded up with cages and nets and blankets and fencing and the most important item of all: THE LURE.

No, I’m not talking about a can or two of stinky tuna fish, I’m talking something much better! Momma herself! Yes! Ashlyn jumped into her cat carrier to be the bait to bring her babies out of the hole and into her loving arms!

We’re off to the lake

Ashlyn traveled well up to the lake. Soon we met the nice animal-loving neighbors who helped set up our rescue gear.

Ashlyn was put in a small dog crate inside an enclosure we set up outside the shed next to the hole the kittens were in.

We had no idea if the kittens were still inside the hole. We could only hope!

Ashlyn was a wonderful assistant to us. After an hour of getting used to the arrangement without complaint, she focused on the hole under the shed, and called to her babies.

We held our breaths. At first nothing. And we feared the kittens were gone.

But she called again. We braced our selves and got ready our nets as we heard tiny mews coming from the hole. And there, in the sunlight, flickered two little kittens scampering up to Ashlyn to greet her happily!

(Gabriel and I were so excited and so touched to see them!! but we couldn’t say a word!) Ashlyn laid on her side to nurse in response to them, but no sooner did this happen did the kittens scamper back into their hole!

But we were encouraged!

We saw them, they looked healthy and they were both there and so DARNED ADORABLE!!!  We were as quiet as could be. We painstakingly held our bodies out of sight and kept our hands on the nets and prayed the kittens would give us another chance. Another hour passed. Nothing. Neighbor dogs came by, boats zoomed by on the lake, neighbors were overly noisy, and the sounds hindered our rescue work.

Another hour passed,  then suddenly Ashlyn mewed again and we heard a tiny sweet mew as one of the kittens came out to mom again. This time Gabriel netted her! We were so excited! We united her with her mom and she immediately settled in to nurse.

Two more hours of waiting

The second kitten took us 2 hours longer. Our legs were cramping, our backs aching and the mosquitoes hungry. But we didn’t dare make a sound. We couldn’t even swat at them for fear of scaring the little one away.

At nearly the 5th hour of rescue work, the little rascal toddled out from the hole and strolled over to momma and her sibling. I put my net firmly over the baby. Within seconds she, too, was with Ashlyn hiding under her body and looking out at us with her darling face!

Gabriel and I were so excited! It was so wonderful to unite mom with her 2 kittens. The 5 hours were worth it we agreed!

The two kittens were so happy to see momma and they purred the whole ride home back to Wells to join the other two kittens waiting for them to arrive!

All the way home I thought about Safe Haven and the work we do. I was so thankful that our group is No Kill and never gives up on any case we take on.

Our work is hard and we do whatever it takes but the reward is beyond measure. One look over at Ashlyn and the kittens was all the reward needed.

Back at Safe Haven

We settled them in with Pixie and Smidgen. We fed them and fluffed up their blankets. I couldn’t help but notice, Ashlyn no longer had the anxious look on her face. Now, she actually had a contented smile as her kittens gathered around her. This dear mom cat now could enjoy motherhood. She will never know hunger or fear again, and that’s what it’s all about!

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The kitties thank you!