We’re familiar with the cute aggression we experience whenever we cross paths with a kitten that appears to be abandoned. We want to cuddle the poor thing, smother her with our affection and appreciation, and give her everything she needs to be happy and healthy.
We want to replace the mother that abandoned her, but we can’t. We need to make sure that the kitten reunites with her mother before we take matters too far and snatch her away from her family (no matter how much we really, really want to).
Now, when we separate a kitten from her mother too soon, we’re condemning her to an existence beaming with odd behaviors, struggles to coexist with other kittens, cats, and humans, as well as higher chances of health problems (granted that she even survives).
Actually, a kitten needs her mother for twelve to fourteen weeks to ensure she’s completely and properly developed. All kittens need to be weaned off before she’s separated from their mother because most of the nutrients she needs come from their mother’s milk.
Staying with her mother for twelve to fourteen weeks ensures that the kitten receives the nutrients she needs to be happy and healthy, to play and communicate with other kittens, and to become more confident and assured.
But, what do we do when we cross paths with an abandoned kitten that was clearly born minutes ago? What do we do when the mother’s nowhere to be found?
We’re bringing you a heartwarming narrative of what an Imgur user (@bmusser) decided to do when he stumbled upon that exact scene.
On the day of the predicament, he was getting ready to go to work when he heard meowing and crying coming somewhere from the area around the neighbor’s garage.
When he approached the area, he figured out that the meowing was coming from outside the fence next to the neighbor’s backyard. He thought to himself “I’m late for work!” but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that whatever was meowing was going through a rough time.
He walked over to the neighbor’s backyard and saw a little bundle of cuddles, a fluffer crying for her mother. He looked around, uttered the sweetest “here, kitty kitty” he could, and waited for the mother to appear.
When he realized that the mother wasn’t coming back, he scooped the kitten off the ground and brought her to the house to regroup.
When he came back to the house, he was confused about what he was supposed to do. He didn’t know whether he should continue searching for the mother or whether he should take care of the kitten and forget about the mother completely.
He didn’t even know that the umbilical cord was still attached to the kitten until the wife came home and screamed “What is that?!” On one hand, he knew that the kitten wouldn’t survive without the mother. On the other, he knew he needed to do something to nurse the kitten back to health.
Now, the two of them went to the store and purchased a bunch of supplies and kitten food (formula) to start feeding the kitten ASAP.
When they came back home, they started researching how to care for a very, very young kitten, and experimenting with different styles of feeding to ensure that the kitten was eating enough.
Actually, the kitten started getting attached to them and would even nurse on the husband’s arm and meow for attention and affection.
After a while, they schedule an appointment with the vet to check whether everything was OK. And, the vet confirmed that the kitten was not more than a week old and that she was (miraculously) growing, getting stronger, and becoming healthier with each day.
Oh, the husband and wife were over the moon which was the reason why they decided to name the kitten Casper. Over the next few weeks, Casper was growing bigger and stronger and starting to explore more.
Of course, when Casper became more confident, she started showing off her purrsonality, running around the apartment, hopping on the highest kitchen counters, and cuddling her dad.
She recovered completely and she became the family’s little miracle, a little shadow that was always there. She brought them so much happiness that they don’t even know how they ever managed to live without her. Way to go, Casper!