maynyrd abandoned: twice in one day!

 Around the university, we have many feral cats. There is even a group of people who have organized to feed them, as well as to get them spayed/neutered. Still, kittens are born on campus.

 Yesterday when I descended the exterior stairs on my way to lunch, a co-worker stopped me to point out a very newborn kitten behind one of the support pillars. No other cats were around, neither were there any signs of the rest of the litter. And, of course, neither of us could bring ourselves to just leave it there.

 I picked up the little critter, went to the car where my son was waiting, and he drove to Wal-Mart so I could get a feeding bottle and some kitten formula -- instead of the bank where I was supposed to get travelers checks for the trip.

 The doll-sized nipple on the feeding bottle was HUGE for this little kitty; I should have gotten an eye dropper. It was too weak to suck, but finally I managed to get some of the liquid in it. I was ecstatic when it managed to lick some of the fluid off my fingers/hand! But just the effort of fighting against the attempts to get the bottle in its mouth, etc., were exhausting for the poor little thing.

 Son#1 drove me back to work -- sans lunch or checks -- I took it inside, grabbed a box and the blanket I keep in my desk and settled the kitten down under my desk. Then I went searching for two things: a way to contact the on-campus feral cat group, and information about how to care for a kitten orphaned this young.

 A quick skim over this document confirmed I would not have the time to care properly for it, even with Son#1 agreeing to keep it in his room while we were traveling. To shorten the tale, after I got off work, we drove to the humane society and left the kitten with them.

 This was very difficult for a cat-lover like me to do. However, the attendant told me they had a good number of momma cats and good success at getting them to nurse orphans. Also, kittens appear to get adopted well, even though the statistics posted on a board in the office as to the number of animals they put down last year was upsetting.

 So, we left the kitten, sadly, but it probably has a better chance to survive with them than with us, as does my marriage. I am used to my own cats, but I did seem to itch, sneeze, and have watery eyes all afternoon from this one. Of course, my own cats had little to do with me last night.

 Here's the picture I took just before taking it inside at the shelter:


 For scale, the feeding bottle from bottom to tip of nipple is four inches; and the kitten is not as long as the picture makes it look -- its tail is curled up making it look bigger. You can click on the photo for a larger version, but it is still hard to tell that the area around the right hind leg is really the tail.