Diary about the little orphan
Day One: Today started like most others. After doing exercises, I did my reading and had breakfast with my family. I admired the new seedlings that I have been nurturing. I checked my emails and set out to do my regular chores in the house.
Then I heard my name called from the basement. My husband ascended the stairs and handed me a small creature. He brought me a newborn orphan kitten. He said, “It’s almost dead, but not quite.”
Well, my heart went out to the little one. I cradled his cold little body next to my own skin. Soon I felt him move a foot and another. He began to be more active. Then I heard a pitiful, “Mew” come from his little voice. His mouth was open to invite some desperately needed food.
When I felt that he had recovered his body heat sufficiently, I went to my kitchen to make up some Orphan Puppy and Kitten Formula. That is a recipe we got from the Spring Valley Veterinary Clinic. It has come in handy for us on the farm for many years. I tried to make it one-handed while I held the kitten in my other hand.
Soon I laid him down on rags I had gathered and finished the mixture. While warming the life-saving liquid, I located a small medicine dropper. As the tiny black and white kitten responded to my picking him up again, he squirmed and meowed. He began to root, looking for a nipple that could satisfy him. I raised the filled dropper to his little mouth and soon he accepted it and took a taste. After a few more times of offering the formula to him, he began to take his food with vigorous sucking. Something was starting to go in his favor.
I decided to fashion a little bed for him. I saw a cracker box on my counter and cut it and taped it to make a kitty crib for him. A heating pad added to its warmth which soon lulled the little guy to sleep. I expected he would soon awaken and need another helping of food.
Today was an interesting day; one that I had not planned. I looked forward to having a helpful babysitter assist me in supporting this little one’s life. Home from work, my daughter entered this living drama. She gave me a break and took over my little charge for the evening and night shifts.
Day Two: Our little Tom kitten made it through his first 24 hours. He ate well. Three droppers of formula sufficiently filled up his wee tummy. This morning, he graduated to a larger box. He easily climbed out of the kitty crib overnight. So the new box became the next step we took for his safety and comfort.
He exercised some, but he napped most of the morning, being fed at 9 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. Again he took three droppers of his warm milky lunch. This encouraging schedule brought us hope that he would require less constant supervision. By 4 p.m., he was fed again. My family had to be gone that evening, so we gave him a supplemental feeding just before we left. He did fine in our absence.
Day Three: Hurray! My husband found a mother cat and her kittens in the shed where he found our little orphan. With the weather warming, we planned to approach the mother cat with the kitten in our custody. Likely she was his real mother. We hoped she would welcome him into her litter.
After breakfast, my daughter and I walked our little friend down to the shed. There sat the mama cat cuddling her two kits. As soon as Little Orphan was placed beside her in their nest of yellow straw, she sniffed at him and her motor started running. She purred loudly at his presence. He began rooting and meowing. When he found the right faucet, we knew he would be at home.
Epilogue: I like stories that have a happy ending. And this one has just that. Our Little Orphan is at home and is an orphan no longer.
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