Make A Kitten's Life Different

I found a kitten at my workplace near Thomson Road. She was under a car, meowing loudly for her mother. Some people had attempted to rescue it, but the kitten was so frightened that she kept hissing at them. The kitten's cry lasted for an hour before I decided to try to rescue her. It's extremely dangerous for the kitten to be under the car, as there were many heavy vehicles travelling within the compound. However, it took me quite a while to catch her, especially with the kitten's hostile behavior. In the end, I managed to tie a string around her neck and slowly lead her out.

After the rescue, I put her in a carton box in which I had left some water and cloth for her. My colleagues and I bought pet's milk and kitten food for her. Despite all the growling, she's a very sweet cat. She would only eat or drink if we feed her. All she wants is our attention. Even on the first day of her rescue, she would sleep on our thighs as we scratched her. Once we put her back, she would meow non-stop.

So tiny and sweet

However, my colleagues and I noticed that the kitten was limping. The kitten was dragging her right front paw. The first thing that came to mind was the possibility that I had hurt her when I was rescuing her. But when I touched it, the foot felt very soft, like jelly. Perhaps she was born like that, or perhaps she had injured herself from a fall.

At the Vet

My colleagues weren't supportive of keeping the kitten since she was a stray, and no one was willing to take responsibility of the kitten. I couldn't bring the kitten home as I had a pet dog at home, who would get jealous. Fortunately, my boss allowed me to keep her at the office as long as there was someone looking after her. I knew I had to find a place for the kitten as soon as possible as I was leaving the company and there would be no one left to take care of her.

I took an off day on the following day, but I made a trip down to my workplace to see how the kitten was doing.  I also brought my dog down as well to see if there was any chance for them to be friends. The moment I carried the kitten, she peed on me. Gosh, I hadn't even introduced her to my dog yet, but the kitten peed on me. I wrapped a towel around her while I fed her milk. And guess what happened next. Yes, after the small business comes the big business. It was poop. Ah, luckily I had the towel wrapped around her!

After cleaning up, I carried her outside to show her to my dog. And I finally understood why some people say cats and dogs can never be friends. Both of them went absolutely crazy. So the option to bring the kitten home is out.

I wanted to send her to the SPCA, but my friend stopped me as the condition of the kitten wasn't that ideal for adoption, and it was very likely that she would be put to sleep. So I googled other pet rescue teams, and the only reply I got was from Cherlyn from HOPE Dog Rescue. I told her the entire story.

She gave me instructions, whereby I could put the kitten in fostering homes. While liaising with Cherlyn, I received a call from my office, saying that the kitten kept jumping out of the box and that they had no choice but to release her. I rushed down to the company and took the kitten home. She was already so pitiful but no one would look after her. Luckily, Cherlyn told me that I could send the kitten to the vet before passing her over to the foster's side. I took the kitten home for a while and let her run freely in my bathroom. I was afraid that my dog would attack her, so I locked her in my parents' room.

I kept the toilet lid down and closed all the cupboard doors, but this kitten was so mischievous! She managed to find a hole behind the toilet bowl and disappeared inside! It scared the hell out of me when I thought she went into the sewage system. I meowed non-stop, hoping for her reply but she didn't answer. I called Cherlyn to ask if there was anything I could do. I tried all the methods - lure her out using food, wait for her to come out, etc. but there was no response at all and time was running out. I was afraid she might suffocate inside the pipe. Then Cherlyn called and gave me the number to the SPCA to see if they could help in such a situation. The SPCA gave me a number to call to arrange for someone to come over to rescue the cat.

While waiting for the person to arrive, I took a clothes hanger and poked it into the hole. Yes! Finally I heard the kitten's growling again, but I couldn't reach her. I tried using torch lights and cameras, but none of them could help me spot her inside the hole. Finally, the guy arrived. He was a contractor for the SPCA. Yes, he was a contractor, so there was definitely going to be a fee for his service. And yes, his charge was $130 for a successful rescue. The fee was way above my expectation. How could a contact of an animal welfare group charge so much? And why didn't the SPCA mention anything about the fee? At that time though, I didn't have the mind to care about the $130; I just wanted the kitten to come out!

After many attempts, the guy managed to get the cat out by spraying water into the hole, and that naughty monster climbed her way out! It was a great relief to see her again! After paying the guy, I made my way to the vet.

The entire saga was so energy-draining, but it was worth it after all, when I hugged her in my arms and saw the kitten falling asleep, feeling safe.

Cuteness magnified!

Though I couldn't keep her with me, I hope I can make a change in her life. The vet took an X-ray for her but didn't give a clear explanation on her right hand. It may be handicapped for life, or might heal after a surgery. Whatever the case, she's a lovely kitten that needs a home and TLC. Despite the entire saga, I'm happy to see her in good hands. No animals want to be born a stray. So what if it's a stray... it's still a life. The changes we make for her will make a difference in her life.

Written by Cheryl Wu

HOPE's updates:

The kitten has been adopted. The vet's diagnosis was that she has a dislocated shoulder, but the surgery is high-risk because of her young age so nothing will be done to the kitten for now. We would like to thank Francesca and Cheryl for helping with kitten’s initial vet bill.