So glad the little kitty is safe and warm….

I debated posting about this for several days, because I don’t want to “do my good works before men” or be narcissistic: Oh, look how awesome I am!  I decided to go ahead because this has been on my heart since Sunday, and I want to remember and write about the little stray kitty.  And make a plea to others.

For a couple of weeks, a kitty hung around our little neighborhood, especially our condo.  My husband and I couldn’t get near it because it kept running off, so we couldn’t tell if it belonged to a neighbor.

At first we thought somebody had unwisely let their cat out on a frigidly cold almost-winter night.  I hoped it would soon go back home, and not stay out in that weather overnight.  We had occasional sightings now and then, but it wouldn’t get near us.

On Sunday, it was still around, so we really began to worry.  My husband put out some food.  As soon as he went back inside, the cat gobbled it up.  So at least we knew it had a full belly.

But it has been extremely cold around here lately, and more cold weather was expected this week (we’re talking wind chills occasionally hitting 15 or more below zero).  This could not possibly be a well-cared-for cat with a home.  My husband also saw the collar wrapped around the body.

My husband noted the cat liked to stay around our dryer vent.  After dark, we put blankets and food in a large cat carrier, and stuck it by the vent.  It could sleep there, and stay warm–and, with any luck/Providence, we could capture it in there.

Just a short time afterward, my husband went out and there was the cat, in the carrier.  He locked it in, and we brought it inside.  The poor thing kept meowing and meowing until the Humane Society girl showed up.

We would have kept it, but we already have two cats.  There are ordinances and condo rules about too many cats–and our gray cat is very territorial.

It was just a kitten!  Such a sweet and cute little thing, with big dark eyes, very scared.  But I stayed with it until we could hand it over, since we couldn’t let it out of the carrier.

(We didn’t know if it had rabies, or what our cats would do to it.  With it in the carrier, they just sat on the stairs, wondering what the heck was going on.  They probably stayed there because carrier=vet trip.)

The Humane Society girl assured us that nowadays they only euthanize for aggression or medical issues.  She also noted the cat was very thin, and when she removed the collar, the skin underneath was covered with sores.

That night was cold again.  All week has been cold.  And I’ve thought about that kitty every day, how it could have died from starvation and exposure, but instead it’s safe, getting treatment and care.  And soon, that sweet, cute little thing should be adopted out, since it’s a kitten and she said they’ve adopted out a lot of cats lately.

God even hears the plaintive prayers of a lost kitten.

PLEASE: Be careful what kind of collar you put on a cat.  Breakaway collars would prevent injury.  Keep your cat inside in this kind of weather.  Don’t be afraid to give a stray cat to a shelter.

Use microchips, since this cat had no tag on her collar.  And if you know anybody in Fond du Lac who’s missing an orange and white cat, it’s at the Humane Society.

UPDATE: See this post for picture.