The folks that made it to the 2019 club retreat at Collins Lake got to show their spirit of conservation and caring in a unique way – by rescuing some apparently orphaned kittens. They were spotted living in a pile of rocks under some underbrush on a steep hill just below a couple of the club campgrounds. They were very fearful and skittish, but hungry enough to brave crawling out for tasty treats when they were offered.
It was unclear if they were abandoned, or were born there. Rumors from the camp staff were that the mother cat was seen on the ground, but she never appeared over the course of the weekend, and the kittens seemed way to young for mom to naturally leave them on their own. It was immediately decided that they would be taken to a rescue.
I knew right away that I wanted one for myself. My wife and I are both fond of having a lot of pets, so I knew we could give it a good home. I texted Jennifer and let her know I was bringing one home. Much to my surprise, after I told her their story, she recommended I bring all of them home. We decided to take all 5 of the little fluff balls with the intent of making an effort to find homes for them ourselves before sending them to the shelter, and a questionable fate.
I personally only managed to get my hands on two of them, and one (the only gray cat) managed to jump out of the card board box before I got him into the box. The one I did catch immediately became quite friendly as he hung out in our cabin with Magnus.
Disappointingly, I had to leave early the next morning before I could manage to catch any more. But Gentle Jim Nadeau proved to be quite the cat whisperer I’m told, and the rest of the kittens were captured. Kevin and Connie were nice enough to drive them down to my house in Sacramento.
We made a home for them in an extra bathroom we have, where they could get used to the smells and sounds of our house – and our many other pets – all from behind the safety of a glass shower door.
After giving them a couple of days to settle, I’d already decided on not one but two kitties that would remain with us. The gray tabby we named Mountain Goat, or just Goat for short. The white kitten that Magnus had made friends with back in the Collins Lake cabin was name Leche.
Luckily we were quickly able to find homes for the remaining three with people we knew. They all ended up in good homes.
Leche and Goat have adapted to our house really well. They often come out and greet me in the morning, circling around my ankles as I stumble to try and make coffee. They’ve also become rather fond of drooling over our 3, tasty looking parakeets from the top of their cage. As all of our cats have aged, it is fun to again watch younger cats running and playfully attacking each other.
