The Story of Mew
In August of 2007, we experienced heavy rains and flooding in our area of Illinois. Luckily, our home is not near any rivers or streams and our basement, for the most part, keeps dry in the rainy weather. But part of the main street of Somonauk was under water and the lower areas were very wet indeed.
I often choose to sit on our screened in porch in the evenings as I love to enjoy the breezes as I read after a hard day's work. This particular evening, I kept hearing a kitten mewling outside. As we have a large family of feral cats next door, I didn't think much of the sound, though I did note that this was the second evening that the little thing was calling.
My oldest son, Nik, came out to join me as he likes to keep me informed of news and information he gleans from the internet. While talking, he noted the kitten mewling outside. I reminded him that we already had 5 cats and besides, the mother had to be around closeby. We listened for another few minutes, when Nik couldn't stand it any longer and declared that he was going to go see if he could find the kitten. I warned him again that we could not take in another cat.
With that, he grabbed a flashlight and went outside. Now our street is extremely busy. It is a main north-south road in Somonauk and we have continuous traffic through the day and evenings. Nik walked around the house, then crossed the street. After a few minutes, he came back very agitated. The kitten, he stated, was very young and looked abandoned. I assumed that the little one was at least five or six months old, still small, but as a feral cat, had adults and siblings around. Nik insisted that the kitten was a lot younger and may not be weaned. When he explained that he tried to get close to the little one and talked to it, I became concerned. He had crossed the street. The kitten was across the street. He crossed back over to report to me. What's to say that the little cat wouldn't just follow him across the road and get killed by the traffic.
Both being animal lovers and cat people, Nik and I were upset and trying to decide the best way to handle the situation, when we heard the mewling at our porch door. Sure enough, the kitten had crossed the street (safely, thank goodness) and was now at our door crying. One look, told me that Nik was pretty close in his age assessment. The kitten was barely weaned, looked half-starved, had a runny nose and eyes and was crying piteously. That did it!
I told Nik to help me coax the kitten inside the porch so that we could keep it safe overnight. We intended to take the little one to the Humane Society in the morning, but were afraid that left on its own, it would continue to cross the street with possible deadly results.
Well, it may have been half starved, but the kitten was not about to let 2 strangers get close. She led us around the house, from one door to another and then bolted under our cars in the driveway.
There Nik and I were, on our hands and knees at 10 o'clock at night, trying to coax a feral kitten from under the cars. Nik finally distracted the little one, grabbed one of its legs and gently pulled it out.
We put the kitten in our porch area and put out a little food and water, then turned in for the night.
Now Steve is adamant about having too many cats. As it is, he is not happy that I decided to bring cats back into our lives during our brief separation. He loves animals dearly and animals just love him back, but he really didn't want the responsibility of pet ownership again. Needless to say, I kept insisting that the kitten was bound for the Humane Society in the morning and that I was not going to allow anyone to keep it. But I knew, inside, that once he set eyes on the little beauty, his heart would be lost, just as mine was.
So, the next morning after we got up, Steve made a beeline for the screened in porch. I tried to intercept him, but he ignored my reminders that the kitten was soon to be gone. Sure enough, as soon as he sat on the denim sofa, the kitten climbed up, started to purr and suckle his shirt, then closed her eyes and totally relaxed. (She still wouldn't let Nik or I get close!) That was it! Steve looked at me and grinned. I threw up my hands in surrender and called the vet to see if we could get the kitten in for a checkup.
Mew (she got her name for the 2 nights of crying) turned out to be 6 - 8 weeks old and weaned, with fleas, ear mites, and a respiratory infection. The vet treated her infestation and gave us the necessary medications to get her infection cleared up. He warned us to keep her away from the other cats for at least a week to 10 days. They then checked her for feline leukemia (she was clear, thank goodness) and we brought her back home.
Mew has lived with us since that day. She is a treasure. After she recovered and was brought in to the other cats, Mew adopted Rocx (the next youngest cat) as her buddy and the two of them play and fight like siblings. Mew has an interesting face and body and after some on-line searching, I believe that she has some Maine Coon blood in her. She is a wonderful grey and beige long hair, with extremely large paws, short legs and the ability to pick up objects with her claws.
She is now 7 months old and is already surpassing Shadow in size. Her paws remain large, getting bigger as she gets bigger. She has the most beautiful gold eyes, that turn to green when she stares at you. At this point, cuddling is not in her plans! But when she wants to be cuddled, she is the most loving sweetheart in the house.
I often choose to sit on our screened in porch in the evenings as I love to enjoy the breezes as I read after a hard day's work. This particular evening, I kept hearing a kitten mewling outside. As we have a large family of feral cats next door, I didn't think much of the sound, though I did note that this was the second evening that the little thing was calling.
My oldest son, Nik, came out to join me as he likes to keep me informed of news and information he gleans from the internet. While talking, he noted the kitten mewling outside. I reminded him that we already had 5 cats and besides, the mother had to be around closeby. We listened for another few minutes, when Nik couldn't stand it any longer and declared that he was going to go see if he could find the kitten. I warned him again that we could not take in another cat.
With that, he grabbed a flashlight and went outside. Now our street is extremely busy. It is a main north-south road in Somonauk and we have continuous traffic through the day and evenings. Nik walked around the house, then crossed the street. After a few minutes, he came back very agitated. The kitten, he stated, was very young and looked abandoned. I assumed that the little one was at least five or six months old, still small, but as a feral cat, had adults and siblings around. Nik insisted that the kitten was a lot younger and may not be weaned. When he explained that he tried to get close to the little one and talked to it, I became concerned. He had crossed the street. The kitten was across the street. He crossed back over to report to me. What's to say that the little cat wouldn't just follow him across the road and get killed by the traffic.
Both being animal lovers and cat people, Nik and I were upset and trying to decide the best way to handle the situation, when we heard the mewling at our porch door. Sure enough, the kitten had crossed the street (safely, thank goodness) and was now at our door crying. One look, told me that Nik was pretty close in his age assessment. The kitten was barely weaned, looked half-starved, had a runny nose and eyes and was crying piteously. That did it!
I told Nik to help me coax the kitten inside the porch so that we could keep it safe overnight. We intended to take the little one to the Humane Society in the morning, but were afraid that left on its own, it would continue to cross the street with possible deadly results.
Well, it may have been half starved, but the kitten was not about to let 2 strangers get close. She led us around the house, from one door to another and then bolted under our cars in the driveway.
There Nik and I were, on our hands and knees at 10 o'clock at night, trying to coax a feral kitten from under the cars. Nik finally distracted the little one, grabbed one of its legs and gently pulled it out.
We put the kitten in our porch area and put out a little food and water, then turned in for the night.
Now Steve is adamant about having too many cats. As it is, he is not happy that I decided to bring cats back into our lives during our brief separation. He loves animals dearly and animals just love him back, but he really didn't want the responsibility of pet ownership again. Needless to say, I kept insisting that the kitten was bound for the Humane Society in the morning and that I was not going to allow anyone to keep it. But I knew, inside, that once he set eyes on the little beauty, his heart would be lost, just as mine was.
So, the next morning after we got up, Steve made a beeline for the screened in porch. I tried to intercept him, but he ignored my reminders that the kitten was soon to be gone. Sure enough, as soon as he sat on the denim sofa, the kitten climbed up, started to purr and suckle his shirt, then closed her eyes and totally relaxed. (She still wouldn't let Nik or I get close!) That was it! Steve looked at me and grinned. I threw up my hands in surrender and called the vet to see if we could get the kitten in for a checkup.
Mew (she got her name for the 2 nights of crying) turned out to be 6 - 8 weeks old and weaned, with fleas, ear mites, and a respiratory infection. The vet treated her infestation and gave us the necessary medications to get her infection cleared up. He warned us to keep her away from the other cats for at least a week to 10 days. They then checked her for feline leukemia (she was clear, thank goodness) and we brought her back home.
Mew has lived with us since that day. She is a treasure. After she recovered and was brought in to the other cats, Mew adopted Rocx (the next youngest cat) as her buddy and the two of them play and fight like siblings. Mew has an interesting face and body and after some on-line searching, I believe that she has some Maine Coon blood in her. She is a wonderful grey and beige long hair, with extremely large paws, short legs and the ability to pick up objects with her claws.
She is now 7 months old and is already surpassing Shadow in size. Her paws remain large, getting bigger as she gets bigger. She has the most beautiful gold eyes, that turn to green when she stares at you. At this point, cuddling is not in her plans! But when she wants to be cuddled, she is the most loving sweetheart in the house.
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