Catty Remarks

Shelly, my beautiful Siamese-mix cat, almost didn’t make it past the first week of life.   Shelly’s mother lives outdoors as a free-roaming (feral) cat and when the time came to deliver (soon-to-become) Shelly and her siblings, the mother found an abandoned pontoon boat, precariously balanced on some rafters, in an old boathouse. Finding a hole in one of the pontoons, she climbed inside and gave birth to her kittens.  However, when the kittens were only a few days old, something shifted between the boat and the rafters and the pontoon’s hole was blocked.  The mother cat found herself trapped on the outside with no way to reach her hungry babies inside the pontoon.

For several days the kittens mewed helplessly, starving and shivering through the cold January nights.  Fortunately, the mother was part of a colony managed by a caretaker, “G.”.  On one of his rounds, he heard the kittens inside the pontoon, but attempts to access them proved unsuccessful.  He called Hobe Sound Animal Protection League for help.

“P.,” a volunteer for HSAPL, took the call. The gravity of the situation was quickly apparent and it was clear that something had to be done, quickly.

P. grabbed a jacket and a flashlight and hurried to meet G. at the boat.  The situation looked grim; accessing the kittens seemed impossible.  Finally, after searching the dark recesses of the boat house, G. found a pair of rusty metal cutters.  He was able to cut a small hole in the pontoon, just large enough for P to slide in her slender arm and feel around for the kittens.  One, two, three kittens emerged, weak and dehydrated, but hanging on to life by a thread.

The kittens were whisked to the vet and subsequently taken to nurturing foster homes where they all recovered.  Eventually each one found a permanent home.  Shelly came to live with my family.   Frightened and shy at first, she came to trust us over time and these days she pretty much rules the roost. She is now a large, healthy cat who will never have to be afraid or hungry again.

Shelly’s experience is one of the hundreds of success stories in which HSAPL’s efforts have provided a happy resolution to what would have otherwise been a very sad tale .  I am grateful each day to HSAPL and the people who dedicate themselves to making sure that cats like Shelly all have stories with happy endings.

Please share your comments and stories of how your cats came into your lives.  Every cat is special and every story, unique!