Rescued a little baby yesterday

My boyfriend just came back from Iraq a few days ago, but they had to stay at Camp Shelby in Mississippi for several days for all the demobilization stuff. So I drove to MS to be able to see him and spend a few days with him while he was stuck there. Anyway, yesterday while my boyfriend was over at the camp doing his thing, I decided to go out and get some breakfast and go to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. As I was driving down a main road, I see all these cars swerving around something black in the road. At first I didn't know what it was, but as I got closer, I saw that it was a little kitten! I immediately pulled off the road and ran out in the traffic to get the little baby. I was shaking all over! He was bleeding from his nose and mouth and I couldn't tell whether or not he was ok. I saw that there was an emergency vet directly across from where I was, so I jumped back in the car and went over there......but they were closed...it was a night and weekend only kind of vet. Then the little kitten jumped out of the towel I had him wrapped in and crawled up under my dash....under where the glove box is!! I really freaked then!! I called my boyfriend and was just frantic. I told him what was going on and he said, "Calm down. Go back to the hotel room and get the phone book.....look for a vet nearby and call them. Maybe the kitten will come out of the dash by then and if not, maybe the vet can help you get him out." So that's what I did. Luckily, I found a vet just down the road that was open, and I drove over there as fast as I could. One of the vet techs came out with a screw driver and we took the dash off and were able to get the kitten. The vet saw him immediately since he appeared to be going into shock. They checked him out really good and amazingly......the only injuries he seems to have is some abrasions on his face....chin, lip, and nose....which is where the blood was coming from. They gave him some fluids, antibiotics, and checked him for FIV and leukemia and worms and everything was negative. They kept him overnight and I went to pick him up today for the ride back to Nashville. I think I'm going to give him to my oldest daughter since she has a little black kitten that's about the same age.....approx 8 weeks old. If she decides not to take him, I'll have to find him a home.

He's still very scared right now. He's had a scary couple of days. He'll let me hold him, but then he starts trembling. He's not eating yet either although they said he ate at the vet's this morning. For now, I've got him in my spare bedroom with his food, water, and litterbox set up nearby. I cut a hole in the cardboard carrier that the vet gave me so that he could have a safe place to go until he starts feeling more comfortable. And I'm keeping my other cats away from him for now because the poor baby is so scared.....it just might be too overwhelming for him.

Anyway....here he is. I can't believe that he didn't suffer major injuries. I'm wondering if maybe he didn't actually get hit by car....but maybe dodged the cars and tripped and fell on his face since that's where the abrasions are. He's a lucky little boy.

Poor little baby, he has the feral look to him. I hope he calms down for you! Hooray for you dashing out to save him like that!!!

aww, poor little guy. props to you for rescuing him, seriously. you said you'd have to find him a home if your daughter couldn't take him-you can't keep him yourself? just curious. wish i could take him- i love black kitties. hope he feels better soon xx

Yeah....I wondered if he might be feral. But then I thought that maybe he's just still so traumatized over what happened to him....that maybe that's all that is wrong with him. If he is a feral.....at least he's very young and hopefully can be tamed and learn to be a loving pet for someone. I had some real good luck with some ferals that I had fostered awhile back. It took them about a week to start trusting me and coming around and letting me hold them and love them. The good thing is that I'm off work for the next several days so I'll be able to spend time with him and hopefully, he'll start to relax.

Oh I can't keep him....I have 5 already. It seems that strays and down-on-their-luck kitties always manage to find their way into my life. I just gave another kitten to a friend of mine at work not too long ago....another rescue baby who was only about 8 weeks old when I found her.

But this little guy scared me so bad! I kept thinking "what if I hadn't come along".....that baby wouldn't be here today. I thought I would have nightmares about it last night.

Robin, thank you for saving this sweet little baby. You are the best!

I've decided that this kitten may be a feral after all because he's still so scared of me. If he had been used to being around people, I would think that he would have settled down a bit by now. I'm keeping him in the spare bedroom and thought that he could get used to the sounds of the house that way and eventually learn that he's safe. When I went in to check on him this morning, I noticed that he did eat all his food....so that did my heart good to see that! I couldn't tell whether he had used his litter box or not though, but if he happens to go somewhere else in the room, it's no big deal right now. This morning, he was in the closet when I went in there. I got him out for a minute and pet him and kissed him and then put him down and he ran back into his box. I'm trying not to handle him too much until he begins to trust me and feel safe. I'm glad that he's so young....so hopefully his fear of humans isn't too ingrained yet.

My oldest daughter came over to see him last night and she just fell in love with him. She just about started crying when she saw how scared he was. She said, "Oh he's pitiful! It's so sad for such a little guy to be so distrustful of people." So I told her that I'll probably keep him for a few weeks until he begins to loosen up some before I give him to her.

I wondered if it would be a good idea to have her bring her kitten over and introduce them since they are about the same age and look exactly alike. I thought that maybe this little guy would appreciate being near another kitten since I'm sure he probably had to have had litter mates. Do you think that would make him feel better?

Well the baby was crying really loud just now, so I went in to check on him. Again, he let me hold him, but he buried his face as if he was so scared. I did figure out that he likes his ears rubbed, so when I do that, he seems to relax a little and close his eyes. But once again, as soon as I put him down, he ran into his box to hide.

I hope he begins to come around soon. He's got to be so scared and lonely.

Bless you for saving him!! That poor 'lil guy has had alot happen the last few days it sounds like.....I sure hope he can become tame and make someone a happy person. He is such a sweetie

I've heard that tame cats can help teach nearly-feral cats that humans are A-OK more quickly. I think introducing them right now would be too much, but in a couple weeks, I would consider it, as long as your little rescued one has been confirmed free of disease and such.

Best of luck with him... he sure is pretty! That was so sweet of you to pick him up... he'd be dead now if you didn't!

He is disease free. I had them test him right away when I took him to the vet after finding him in the middle of the road. I wouldn't have brought him into my home if there was a chance of infecting my other kitties.

I just wonder if he'd do ok with another kitten that's his age? I thought about trying to introduce my daughter's kitten to him.

Robin he is beautiful!!!

I think I've decided that he IS feral. I just checked on him again and held him for a minute. He started trembling again, so I just rubbed his ears and talked to him. Then when I put him down, he ran into the box. I stayed in the room and was just sitting there being quiet. He meowed really loud and I said, "I'm still here and it's ok." But when I looked at him in the box, he hissed and spit at me. I did give him a mouse toy that my kitties have played with for a long time. He was so cute. At first he just looked at it....then he was brave enough to reach over and sniff it....then he just layed his head on it and went back to sleep.

Looks like it may be a long hard road to get this little guy to loosen up.

I had Jamie (my oldest daughter) bring over her kitten, Yoda because I really felt like the rescue baby was very lonely being in a new place and all. I didn't want to introduce him to my cats yet because they are all grown and a little more set in their ways. But Yoda, my daughter's kitten is still small...not quite as small as the rescue baby...but very personable....so I thought he may be more accepting of another kitten.

Well, they hit it off right away! The little rescue kitten started following Yoda around and they were playing! That's the happiest I've seen the new baby so far! These pictures are terrible because they were moving around so fast, that it was hard to get a clear shot. It's really amazing how much they look alike. They are going to be practically identical when they grow up.

This first one is Jamie and Yoda.


Kitten in his box again


He came out of his box to check out Yoda.


Following him around.


The boys playing. Yoda is showing him "I'm bigger than you are"


Anyway, Jamie is leaving Yoda over here for awhile to keep the kitten company and to hopefully show him that us humans aren't so bad.

Robin, you are just wonderful to have rescued that baby! He's such a lucky little guy to have been in a place where you could have found him.

I think that bringing Yoda in with him is a wonderful thing. I know that bringing Trent (very tame) in with Ophelia (very feral! it's like being feral was ingrained in her genes) really helped her to accept us and realize we were OK.

Ever so sweet, Robin! And ever so lucky, too. I think it was a stroke of genius to give the little fella a kitten to talk to!

Good news everyone! I just checked on the boys and they seem to be getting along famously! Yoda is being the bully big brother type and kinda wrestling with the kitten.....but ya know what? The kitten starts purring really loud every time he sees Yoda! (this is the first time I've heard him purr) I really think this is just what that little baby needed......someone close to his own age to keep him company and make him not feel so alone and scared in his new world.

Jamie said she'd pick up Yoda later tonight, but I'm going to see if she'll leave him overnight and then for most of the day tomorrow since we're making such great progress. Plus, I think it will help to convince Jamie that she needs to take this kitten permanently if the boys form a strong bond with each other.

He is precious! Bless both of your hearts! Your story sounds so familiar to me it's almost ironic. Friday night my sister came in from out of town, she and I and my mom stayed up until after 2:00am talking, (i live beside my parents) I got up and was walking out the front door to go home when i heard this hugh
meow! meow!my folks have a circle drive and in the circle is a big water fountain, and at the bottom of the base of the fountain is a 1/2 moon opening where the wires come out, anyway, I thought immediately. thats a kitten! so i followed the noise and 'lo and behold' it was! a tiny baby about 5 wks old, OMG! well i got her and started walking to toward my house and my sister, who is also a rescuer, came out and said i'll go to wal-mart and get some kitty milk and food! about that time my parents sprinkler system came on and the kitty and i got soaked, it was dark and i couldn't get away from it!!! lol! personally I think someone just threw her out because her chin was messed up also! you know when i stop and think of that it makes me really not like people! know what i mean? also, last week my son and went to a friends house so i could tan, she lives in the country, and on my way home. we turned down this road and i saw something tiny on the other side of the
road, and when i almost got to it, it started to run out infront of us, well i hit the brakes and it just turned back around and ran in the ditch! i stopped and thought about it for a minute and i said that was a kitten! and it was in the middle of nowhere, about the same as this one, 5 wks. old! people are so mean, i know that is what happened to this kitten, thrown out! we went back and called him, then we drove to the store for food and came back, he was right there but he was to scared or wild to come to us, he was crying, i was crying, we sat out there for 2 hrs trying to get him, he was back in some bryers and a barbed wire fence. it was 12:00am and the only light we had was my headlights from the car. I was balding by the time we left there, my son was so tired, he was the one in the bryers in the woods, but the kitten looked just like " Scream" my baby who is still missing, and bless its heart i could see it back in the woods and it was so sleepy, she would just close her eyes! anyway i had to go home and we left the food hoping i could come back for her in the morning and i did but of course she was gone! Bless that poor Kittens heart! I just grief every time i think of her being in the woods all alone just taken from the security of her mama, and siblings, OMG! I could go postal on some people, I could be the animal cop,
but then again i would probably be in jail for hurting these animal abusers!
what is wrong with people, hello haven't they figured it out by now-it's called spayed/neutered! they don't have the money to do that -is the excuse around here, OH! but they have the money to buy the gas to take these trips, dumping these poor babies all over the county! ok I'm alright now! sorry about that! I need a name for my little baby, she is all grey! no pics right now, i lost my digital camera. any ideas are welcome! Monique

What a cutie! He looks like these two homeless kitties down the road that mom and I have been taking food to. I want to find homes for them because they look like they've been in lots of fights, and they always wait for us.

Originally Posted by h~chan

What a cutie!

He looks like these two homeless kitties down the road that mom and I have been taking food to. I want to find homes for them because they look like they've been in lots of fights, and they always wait for us.

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Just try to catch them and get them to a vet asap. Don't let them wind up like Mr. Big....the feral that I fed for over a year. I never could catch him and he became sick and very aggressive toward me and my kids. I had to call animal control to come and get him and they put him to sleep. My heart still breaks over him.

I don't know how this little kitten, who is so tiny, wound up in the middle of a busy road. I was angry at first thinking that someone had dumped him since it was close to the emergency vet clinic and there weren't any homes nearby, but since now I think he's feral....I guess he could have wandered away from his family somehow and ended up in the road by mistake. I guess I'll never know what his "real" story is.