We went from high wind craziness with power-outages in red flag fire warning situations a few weeks ago…
To this over Thanksgiving (2+ inches of snow)
The Catzone fared well, although only our fluffy cats with heavy fur coats (not kittens) ventured outside in it during the sub-freezing weather.
Our St Bernard/Boxer mix and Golden Retriever/Dutch Shepard mix big dogs decided they loved the snow, while our older grand dame of a Border Collie mix definitely did NOT.
All the kittens were snug and warm inside, and I kept the heat up to make sure no one got chilled. We even took the little little ones back to the master bedroom with us, and they promptly kitten piled to keep themselves even warmer.
We drove through a snow storm on Thanksgiving down to Lancaster and friends (Thank you Tammy and John!), worrying as we drove by snow covered houses and buildings at how any kittens stuck outside were going to make it through such cold and unexpected weather.
A couple days of no sun and snow on and off and then finally the weather broke and we had some blue skies, the cats enjoyed it in the library sunning themselves and carousing.
We had two amazing rescuers Taylor and her mom Rhonda contact us also, they had found two 3 week old kittens limp in the snow, and brought them inside, warmed them up and fed them, and then found their way to us to take them in (since Taylor is allergic to cats). These two little ones are now snuggling with the other young kittens and happy and well fed as can be. Out of the cold thanks to Taylor and Rhonda.
Cynthia and I do get worn down at times, so many cats, so much worry, so many litter boxes (lol, we usually finish taking care of sick kitties, feeding, and everything else around midnight if we're lucky), but when you see the little ones, you can’t say “no, let them die” or at least we can’t. Even when we take the gut punch of losing a little one despite all our best efforts and care, it just makes us even more determined to save the ones we can. To make some difference for the positive for these orphaned or abandoned little kittens and cats.
I (Gregg the litter box and logistics side of the Acton Up Kitten Rescue) have even found myself on the “Fe-lean” diet. The kittens and kitten chores keep us so busy that we have no time to eat (although the kitties are well fed), and when we do get food, the free range kitties are all up in our cheese trying to take bites or convince us to share. Yup, no worries about gaining weight at Acton Up Kitten Rescue, unless you’re a little kitten.
We’re grateful to all the folks that lend us their time to kitten cuddle, those stalwart rescuers who pluck kittens from harms way and find their way with the kittens to us, and to those that donate cat food and supplies to help us keep it all going (you would NOT believe how much catfood we go through lol).
Thanks to everyone, be safe on the roads during this weather and through the holidays coming in December.
