Rescue Stories - Elf: Abandoned by His Momma Cat
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Lola
Elf was born this past summer to a very young and very overburdened Momma Cat. She had six kittens and just couldn't cope, the poor thing. She was either abandoned or feral, so she not only had to find food and shelter for her skinny self, she now had six kittens to care for as well. She did the only thing that a Momma Cat could do in that situation. She rejected one of her kits. That kit was our Elf.
We had seen this new little cat at our feral feeding station in the past week but were not aware she had newborns. Eventually, we did hear the little ones and were able to see one or two through our fence into an unused area of our neighbors yard. We contacted our neighbors who verified that this little Momma Cat was staying in their backyard, they were aware, but the cat was not theirs. They let us know there were a total of six kittens.
We have been Feral Caretakers for decades and knew that once the kits were ready to be weaned, she would bring them by the Catscue buffet to get them eating food. At that time, once we were sure they were weaned, we would TNR.
Then about a week later we heard the loudest cry we've ever heard. We were in the living room with the TV on and we could hear this heart-rending cry. Cat Dad ran outside looking for the poor creature who was crying. He made it halfway across the backyard and this tiny little kitten, crying for all he was worth wobbled out of the jasmine towards him. He let my husband pick him right up – rare for a feral kit, and, cried the whole trip in Cat Dad's arms into the house.
We had never taken care of such a young kitten before and weren't quite sure what to do. I was worried that Momma had been moving her brood and he was the last to get picked up, should we put him back out for her to find? Had we done the right thing by picking him up? Well, the damage was done, we had him inside now and needed to deal with it.
By the next morning when Momma Cat came by for breakfast, little Elf had a full belly and his own little 'house' next to Cat Dad on the sofa. I placed Elf back out with his Momma, but she didn't pay any attention to him at all, even when he tried to nurse. She didn't lash out at him, she just didn't acknowledge his existence.
Doing research, we found that sometimes out of necessity, a Momma Cat will reject a kit. We assume she did that with Elf. Whether or not she did, he certainly made his choice when he came across the yard and into Cat Dad's arms.
Elf is thriving as you can see with his photos. We have since trapped the rest of the family and they are getting their Vet appointments.
Elf lives in Fort Worth, Texas with the Catscue Cat Mom and Dad. You can follow Elf and all of his fur siblings on their blog.
If you have a rescue story you'd like to share with us, please email us at LolaTheRescuedCat@gmail.com!
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