Kitty Rescue - Broken Hearted

Today we did some back to school shopping for my son. He asked me over the weekend which was annoying because I had taken his sister over a week and a half ago and asked him when he wanted to go. He said he didn't need anything. My Uncle had sent him some money to get back to school items so I knew he had money and while heading out two days before I return to work wasn't were I expected to be spending the day I was okay with it. Upon coming home and emptying out the car my daughter took off to the side of the house to check out flowers or look for frogs. As I was going up the stairs she called me over "can I show you something?" I was looking in her eyes and while I just wanted to put the groceries away I knew she really wanted to show me and as she gets older, I still get happy that she is interested in showing me anything.

I asked my son to start putting the groceries away and walked over to the wood pile where she was now standing. "Do you hear that?" She asked. I listened and heard something that was cat like. A tiny little meow. The sound was moving and while I stared at the wood pile it seemed to be right there. I couldn't see anything but a few logs, the rest covered by a tarp. I went in to get a walking stick thinking maybe I will lift the tarp. I know there are many snakes in there and couldn't imagine what was making this noise. It was a tiny squeak. The same sound over and over.  I thought kitten. Then thought chipmunk or mouse. It was so tiny. I pictured something trapped in a snake coil and I wasn't sure I wanted to see that.

When I got back to the wood pile. The sound was still going strong. We discussed it. Her saying it sounded like kitten or a door squeaking open. I felt it was a kitten and started searching. As I leaned over I saw a tiny grey tail. I looked at my daughter and said, "It's a kitten!"

"Can you see it?" she asked. I told her I saw the tail and it was inside the hole of a log. She said she was going to reach in and get it.

Ignore my gross nails. 

We live in the woods. There are many snakes, spiders and more. I asked if she wanted me to get her gloves but she said, "No! I am going to reach right in."

The next thing I know she pulls out a tiny, grey kitten and is saying "OMG! OMG!" She held it to her chest and I saw this tiny fluffy baby.

I ran into the house, got a milk crate and stuck a cat bed in it.

We looked at this tiny, ball of fluff and talked about how tiny and skinny it felt.

I text my husband who told me he had heard it yesterday but couldn't find it and this morning when he left for work but also couldn't find it. I told him I was calling the shelter. The shelter my daughter and I work at is not in my hometown. They told me to bring it to the one in my area and if they didn't take it to bring it to a vet.

We both were cooing over this baby. It was the cutest thing ever and we very immediately responsible for it.  We needed to protect it and make sure it was going to survive. I didn't know how old or how long it had been without food. I gave it some water and tons of dirt came out of it's mouth. My daughter told me she had removed a piece of wood from it's mouth. It did drink a little water.

On our way to the shelter, we talked about wishing we could keep it. It was so tiny and with 3 cats, the kids returning to school and me returning to work this wasn't a good fit for my family.

The ladies at the shelter were awesome. I loved them immediately. They took the baby from us after having me sign a form and we reluctantly left her there.

We spent the next four hours talking about how much we missed her. It is strange, we were only with her about 45 minutes but it was like she was ours. If we only had one cat I would have figured out a way to make it work. I am praying she is adopted as soon as she is checked out. I hope she is okay. We will think about her for a very long time.

My heart hurts but knowing she is being taken care of and getting what she needs makes the whole experience worth it.