I know, it was mean of me to leave that cliffhanger at the bottom of yesterday’s post. But hey, I take my fun where I can get it!
So, here’s the story of Hemlock.
Saturday morning, Winnie, Kathie, and Frances were handling adoption hours at Petsmart. Winnie decided that she’d walk over to Michael’s. (Kathie told her she should drive, since it was so hot out, but Winnie preferred to walk.) As she got closer to Michael’s, Winnie heard the sound of a cat howling. At first she thought someone had left a cat in their car, and she was prepared to break a car window if need be. Then she realized it was not a cat, but a kitten, and she tracked the sound to the car it was coming from. It wasn’t coming from inside the car itself, but from underneath the car. She looked, and up inside the engine was a tiny little screamer.
Winnie called Kathie on her cell phone, and she and Frances came immediately to help. Winnie could get her hand on the kitten, but couldn’t pull him out, and Kathie said that at one point, she was practically laying on top of Winnie as they were both laying on the ground trying to get him out.
They did get him out, obviously, and rushed him to the vet. His temperature was high, his heart rate was elevated, and he was dehydrated and covered in fleas. The vet rehydrated him and brought his temperature down to normal.
The lady who owns the car he was up inside came out during the rescue mission, and she had never seen him before and didn’t know of any neighbors with kittens. She’d been running errands and had made several stops during the morning – he could have been with her all along, or he could have climbed up into the car at any of her stops during the day. Who knows?
A few hours later, they called, and off I went to get him.
Tell me – is that one lucky boy, or what? IF Winnie hadn’t decided to walk over to Michael’s at that exact time, IF he hadn’t decided to start screaming for help, IF he hadn’t chosen that car to climb up into, IF he had been up in that car for a while longer in the heat of an Alabama July, then he certainly wouldn’t have made it.
Any kitten who’d been through all of that would certainly have every right to be scared and traumatized, but not this boy. He is hands-down THE sweetest, friendliest, most loving little guy I have ever seen. The instant you look at him, he starts purring and rolling around on his back, while kneading on anything he can get his paws on. SO SO SO SWEET.
He was a bit of a mess on Saturday, as you can see.
SUCH a love.
I still haven’t given him a bath yet – I put Advantage on him and flea-combed him, and wiped him down with a damp cloth. I plan to give him a bath in the next day or so, but I think he already looks much better.
It was my PLAN to keep him in my bathroom for a few days, at least through the weekend. But while he was okay in the bathroom Saturday night into Sunday morning and slept hard in the little nest I made him atop a warming pad, Sunday morning he started howling and didn’t stop ’til I got up. I thought he was hungry, but he wasn’t. He just wanted love and attention.
After a few hours, I thought I’d take him into the foster room to see how they reacted to him, and how he reacted to them. I took him in, sat down on the floor with him, and …
“HI! HI! Are you my new friend?!”
That’s Privet back there, and what you can’t tell from this picture is that she was batting at his tail. She hissed at him once or twice, but that’s it. She adapted to him immediately.
Getting a belly rub, kneading the air.
Just the SWEETEST.
Checking things out, while Juniper watches.
See what we have here? We have Privet. Why isn’t Privet in the wall condo, which is her favorite place to hang out? you might ask (if you knew that she liked hanging out in the wall condo.) And what’s she looking at?
She’s looking at the wall condo, which is occupied by…
“This will do nicely.”
He’s been in the foster room with them ever since. He has zero fear of those big kittens (Juniper and Cypress both hissed at him at first, and he backed right off. Clearly, he speaks Cat.) and I’ve seen him rubbing against Spruce and Privet. Last night, Privet grabbed him and licked him on top of the head several times. It was WAY too sweet.
So that’s Hemlock’s story!
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Maxi pretty much lives on the front porch lately. She comes to the side stoop occasionally, but about 99% of the time she’s flopped out on the front porch, catching a breeze, keeping cool. Several times I’ve suggested to her that she come inside where it’s much cooler, but she’s not having it. She continues to hate the fact that other cats exist.
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Previously
2015: No entry.
2014: “And she put this HARNESS thing on me, and then she threw me in a CARRIER, and I was in there FOREVERRRRR…”
2013: “WHAT DOON, LADY?”
2012: “Go ‘way, lady. We’re wallowing.”
2011: Random foster pics.
2010: Meet Martin’s new “sisters.”
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: “I am former Senator Stanley J. Boogerton, and I approve this bed.”
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Bless Winnie for listening to her inner self and walking. It was all God’s plan to rescue little Hemlock. He already looks better cleaned up, and after a few good meals…well, it will do him just fine. There is nothing better than a sweet snuggly kitten!!!!
Hello, Maxi….such a pretty girl!!
Hooray for Winnie, Kathie, and Frances! The world needs adorable Hemlock’s diplomatic nous, but also rugged individualists like Maxi.
Oh my goodness I just melted into a puddle of pure squee! AWWWW miracle baby mew! *cuddles*
Bless you, Winnie.
Lucky little Hemlock! I love his asymmetrical eyeliner, very fashion forward.
You made me go back and look! He does! Very cute!!
I was thinking that the black eyeliner, plus the black stripe on that side, kind of makes it look like he’s wearing a monocle. Maybe that’s the new “thing” for fashionable kittens?
Can you imagine the car’s owner when she walked out of the shop and saw these women attacking the underside of her car OR maybe having a drunken brawl under her car. The thoughts that must have gone through her mind before the truthiness of the situation became clear. Bless all of them. And little Hemlock sounds like a dear. So very true, his life just got so much better. I do not believe in coincidence or accidents. Things happen for a reason and people are in the right spot at the right time for a reason. Luckily Winnie listened to that inner voice and we have a wonderful story.
I hadn’t thought about that, but the image is pretty funny 🙂
Bwwaaaaahhhhhh!!! I am going with drunken brawl!!!
Well, that was enough to make me cry. THANKS, ROBYN. *sniff* I am already in love with perky li’l Hemlock, as is everyone else, I’m sure. His new sister Privet obviously senses what a special boy he is. This is a wonderful start to his story.
I have so much love, admiration & respect for all you cat ladies out there who take action and [pardon my language here] get shit done. No foolin’ around. “I hear a cat, git yer ass over here & help me rescue it!” Y’all make my heart swell & my eyes well up. Bravo to everyone!
Ditto everything Sourpuss just said!!! I’m also sitting here having an “allergy” attack reading this… *happy sniff*
The world could use a few more miracle kitten stories right now, if you ask me. I am just so happy that Hemlock is safe and now will have a wonderful kittenhood with new siblings and then a forever family!
Hemlock is the cutest thing! I’m glad they were able to get him out – it must’ve been really hot for him under there!
Miracle kitten indeed!
poor Maxi – all those other means cats 🙂
that Hemlock is one lucky boy…..and it sounds like the other evergreens are taken with him as well
Reminds me a little of Mooch Doodle! Kind of amazing he wasn’t picking up radio signals with those ears. So adorable!
Hemlock is the cutest little thing! So glad they found him!
Ooh, not Mooch, he reminds me of Martin! How I loved that kitty!
What an adorable (and lucky) boy! In the photo captioned “Just the SWEETEST,” I feel like he has a bit of the Loon about him.
Hemlock is one lucky little fellow and what a sweetheart he is. Sounds like he’s got lots of little furry guardian angels watching over him and a bunch of new furry foster siblings!
Great story and the images that come with it are priceless! Hemlock is a lucky kitty. Really ALL of your kitties (and All of the other rescuers kitties) are lucky. You are all wonderful people!
I’ve enjoyed following the stories and pictures of all of your fosters and *gradually” fallen for most of them. Never before now have I experienced love at first sight with one.
Hemlock. …sigh…
I’m so glad Hemlock got rescued. I look forward to watching his development.
IDK.. do you really think he is sweet? 🙂
Hemlock is such a love, what a good story. Are his eyes ok? That was a lot of brown gunk and the skin around them still looks pink and a little inflamed.
I live on Hemlock Lane! It would be so awesome to have a kitten named the same thing as the street one lives on.
The older I get, the more convinced I am that you’ll never go wrong by listening to your inner voice. Thank God Winnie did!!
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Am I the only one who noticed that Senator Stanley J. Boogerton makes an appearance in the 2007 post? (…thinking of Sherry B’s comment yesterday…)
Again, thank you and Fred for what you do for the little kittehs. Little Hemlock is a sweetheart!