Newborn kittens are challenging, heartbreaking, and rewarding at the same time. Kittens need even more affection, appreciation, and attention than adult cats, and that’s why we’re heartbroken when we come across kittens that have been orphaned or abandoned.
Kittens aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s why they’re often cold-shouldered and deserted to tend to themselves. More often than not, kittens need surrogate cats, foster parents, and the entire village (referring to the whole “it takes a village to raise a child” thing) to grow happy and healthy.
When you cross paths with kittens whose mothers abandoned them, can’t feed them, or can’t be found, you might need to act as the mother and provide the kittens with everything they need.
We would argue that kittens need round-the-clock care, starting with a visit to the vet, building a nest for them, feeding them, nurturing them, and even training them to use the litterbox (you don’t want a bunch of kittens running around the apartment and pooping everywhere).
We know that kittens aren’t as “easy peasy lemon squeezy” as everyone seems to think, which happens to be the reason why we were over the moon to hear about Becca and Nathan, volunteers at the Nashville Cat Rescue, fostering two rebellious rascals that were abandoned when they were very, very little.
What happened?
(Credit: @fosterkittens_tn)
When a man who was working on remodeling a house heard meowing and crying coming from the backyard, he thought that he was going coo-coo. When he examined the area, he found a teeny-tiny kitten crying her little heart out and another one a few feet away.
He didn’t know what to do but he knew enough to take them to the Nashville Cat Rescue (an organization dedicated to rescuing abandoned and orphaned cats and getting them closer to forever homes).
Of course, he knew enough to assume that the kittens were too young to survive without a mother and he hoped that the Nashville Cat Rescue would have enough resources to nurture them back to health.
And, he was right. When the kittens arrived at the Nashville Cat Rescue, they were filthy, hungry, and scared to death. According to the volunteers at the rescue, the kittens were covered in fleas that were causing them discomfort.
Actually, the volunteers were working day and night to clean them, remove the fleas and treat them with proper medication, feed them, and provide them with enough affection for them to stop meowing and crying (which seemed to be the biggest challenge out of the bunch).
Other than that, the volunteers took the time to nurse them and feed them down to the moment when both of them were strong enough to eat by themselves. When the kittens (a.k.a the snowballs) became better at keeping their heads up, Becca and Nathan brought them home to continue the foster care.
Whether the two kittens were happy to be out of the Nashville Cat Rescue or to have someone that provides them with affection and adoration, Sqeak and Adele became the snuggliest, cuddliest foster kittens there.
(Credit: @fosterkittens_tn)
On the one hand, Squeak became obsessed with Nathan and would start running toward Nathan’s embrace every time he came back home. Squeak started napping on Nathan whenever he had the chance, hanging out on Nathan’s lap, and even licking Nathan’s clothes.
Adele, on the other hand, became Becca’s shadow. Adele would make squeaking sounds whenever Becca would come home, start running toward her, and demand to be embraced.
Squeak and Adele became known as the meowing duo (hence the names). Becca and Nathan didn’t want to teach Squeak and Adele to stop meowing because meowing brought them to the Nashville Cat Rescue. Nowadays, Squeak and Adele appear to be attached at the hip (Becca’s words, not ours).
These two lovely kittens do everything together because they’re BFFs. From running around the apartment, hopping on kitchen counters, playing fetch with toys, and licking on Nathan’s clothes, the two seem to be having the best time ever!
Of course, they’ve befriended other foster cats and they’ve gotten accustomed to being surrounded by friends and family at all times.
What would make the story better, you might wonder? Becca and Nathan have recently announced that Squeak and Adele are no longer foster kittens and that they’ve been adopted by a lovely lady.
Because they’ve grown fond of Becca and Nathan’s friends and family, they’re also going to be surrounded by a bunch of kitties and kittens at their forever home, too. Squeak and Adele, we wish you a happy and healthy life filled with meows of pleasure!
