Kitties!!

While attending a Dream and Discover outing last week, we chanced upon an abandoned litter of kittens at the Duke Park in Durham. Huddled up on a concrete landing of the old pool house, this pitiful little pile of mewling fur caught my ear as I walked by. At first I thought that perhaps it was a nest full of begging little fledgling birds, but as I investigated to find the source, a little mass of gray and black fuzz started to move and a tiny head and face popped out from the center and greeted me with a plaintive but loud mewling sound.

We hung out at the park for a few more hours to see if a momma-cat would materialize, but no such luck. The kittens were up on a concrete landing, some four feet above ground level. No cover or shelter, no "nest" in sight. We just couldn't leave them. Yes, I know, this is a stressful time of year for our family with the increased work load the holidays mean for MoonDance, and yes, I know our house is full to bursting since Grandma Lucy and Pop-Pop moved in back in July, and yes, I know, we have an 18 month old toddler who is into everything, and yes, I know, we already have a house full of pets, but like I said, "We just couldn't leave them."

I was pretty confident that I could get them into one of the area rescue groups as we have been active supporters and contributors to many of the local rescues. My immediate dilemma was how to keep our family cat, Sassy, safe from any possible diseases. To the rescue, Jennifer Olinger generously offered to house the babies at her home until we could get a clean bill of health for them.
So, one week with the Olinger family and now they are ours (so to speak). We'll be actively trying to get them adopted ASAP, but for now we're enjoying these fuzzy little babies, cleaning lots of litter boxes, mixing up lots of baby formula, wiping dirty mouths and rear ends, and Em's learning about "mothering" first hand.
Thank you, Carol and Dina, of Marley's Cat Tales, for all your help, support, advice and wisdom!