Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/kitten-learns-how-to-cat/
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One day, I received a call from a good Samaritan saying that a tiny kitten had come out from under their AirBNB deck and they weren’t sure how to proceed. After speaking with them and trying to help them find a mom, the decision was made to bring her to our facility as the couple was leaving in the morning.
When PAWS took this kitten in, she wasn’t bigger than my palm. Her eyes were open and she was so alert! She took to the bottle so easily – the easiest bottle baby I’ve ever witnessed. She couldn’t have been older than two weeks. Alice came home with me and was a pain from the start. She did not know how to kitten and was in love with my 60-pound dogs, starting to even act like them.
She quickly became full of personality and a daily laugh. She had typical bottle baby kitten difficulties but powered through. Her biggest struggle was switching from her bottle to gruel food. This kid would eat her grool out of the bottle but REFUSED to even touch it if it was in a bowl, on a plate, etc. To finally get her eating on her own, I ended up putting the nipple in the bowl with the food and she soon figured it out.
Alice was hilarious. She soon figured out that if she was cute enough my partner would sneak her a piece of chicken from the dinner table – for the record I did not teach her that.
We ended up getting her a foster “sibling” at her 2-month mark as she was really struggling with some basic kitten manners. As soon as her foster brother was home, she figured out the hard stuff. No more issues for Miss Alice.
It was nearing her time to get adopted and I was having a difficult time letting go. My dogs loved her and she loved them right back. She had stopped her biting habits and was seeking comfort in my neck folds. She knew it was getting to be that time for her to go and try to get adopted.
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After her spay, she went to one of our catteries and was adopted. It wasn’t long before she was back. I ended up taking her home as she got a little kitten cold and she was overjoyed to be back home.
However, I knew that she couldn’t stay. Having three animals of my own as a college student, I knew that adding a fourth would end my fostering for PAWS and fill my tiny home. I knew that her looks and personality would win over the correct home. Shortly after recovery ended, she was adopted within the first hour of being back onto the adoption floor.
Every year that I work for PAWS, I realize how important it is for shelters and rescues to exist. The world can be cruel without education and kindness. I am blessed to work for an organization that puts an animal’s needs and finding their home above anything!
Story submitted by Colleen Dunlap.
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog