Three Little Kittens

The woman walked into the animal clinic where I worked as a veterinary assistant. She set a small, brown lunch sack on the counter and spoke to the receptionist. After the woman left, I scooped up the paper sack to carry to the back where we performed exams, surgeries and lab work. Not knowing what it was holding, I opened the paper sack and peered inside. I gasped at what I saw. It did not contain the fecal sample I expected to find, but three tiny kittens huddled up together, sleeping contentedly. Feeling safe. They had been brought in by the woman to “be disposed of” meaning euthanized. No mother cat was brought in to be spayed or cared for in any way - just the kittens, which were to be killed.

I convinced the vets to let me keep and care for the abandoned litter. I bought a tiny bottle and kitten formula. At first, I had to use a tiny syringe to feed them, they were so small - only a day or two old. I also had to stimulate them all over, like a mother cat would lick with her tongue, to get them to evacuate. I used a cloth. Soon, they opened their eyes, started walking, then bouncing everywhere as young cats do. They learned to use a litterbox, and to eat solid food.

As the three brown tabbies grew, they were healthy and affectionate from all the human attention they received from birth on. They were also becoming a handful! The kittens looked identical, and all three were males. I’m sure I gave them names, but even this doting surrogate mother couldn’t tell them apart.

They cried for attention, food and play all the time! But they made me laugh.

The three kittens became my constant responsibility all summer, but in the fall, I would return to college. I couldn’t take them with me, as they were not allowed in the dorms. I knew from the start, they would need to be rehomed, but the idea was still a tug at my heart. I had given them so much of my time and energy over that summer and they all turned out healthy and well-adjusted.

All three found excellent homes.

I often wondered about the mother cat, and how many litters she was allowed to produce, and how many kittens were ultimately euthanized.

I worked at several Veterinary Clinics over the years, as well as the Humane Society. It was a somewhat common practice for farmers to cull their barn cats once year. They would drop off crates full of sickly, feral cats to be euthanized. A truly heart-breaking and irresponsible practice for controlling the cat population. Thankfully, that practice is less frequent than it used to be due to fewer farms and more education, but it still happens that many cats are left to roam freely, creating litters of unwanted kittens, which, if they escape euthanasia, then grow to be sickly and feral and produce more kittens.

Many rural counties don’t even recognize cats as pets. They are not taxed, as dogs are, nor is it required to care for them in any way. The cats that I’ve been responsible for in my life have been spayed/neutered, cared for, and vaccinated of my own accord because it’s the right thing to do. Providing anything less is just cruel.

Even if it’s “just” a barn cat. My barn cats and strays have lived longer, healthier lives because they have received care and kindness. Even if they do run off - most haven’t - I know they are not out there, reproducing or spreading sickness. That’s just human responsibility.