Sunday, April 13, 2008

The kitten in the wellhouse


Well yesterday was pretty much the day from hell. Pretty much, I say. But wait, it gets worse. It was so much fun getting into the routine, planting beds of Celosia and Salvia (for the hummingbirds which have arrived in droves). I reluctantly pulled on my gardening gloves (rather work without them, but need to protect my nails these days) and went up to the daffodil bed to start my planting. I kept hearing this whimpering bark from the neighbors up front. I promised myself to go and check on the dog when I finished what I was doing. I hadn't seen a sign of life for several days, no vehicles there, so suspecting an animal in need I laid my gloves aside, got up off my knees (and that took some doing) to go see Mac in the main garden by the woods. I asked if had heard the dog and he had. I told him I was going up and take food and water with me in case. I walked through the brambles and a few trees carrying a jug of water in one hand and a bag of food in the other. I saw him at the same time that he saw me...I began to talk to him, soothingly, his tail began to wag him and I saw immediately that he had no food or water. I poured the water first, and he set to with a will...I patted his head and talked to him and put the food in the other dish and he began to eat. Then he had to offer his thanks so we spent about ten minutes in a mutual admiration mode and then I left him to enjoy his meal in peace. After returning to the house I went in to wash my hands and turning the tap...nothing. Just a little air. I could feel my eyebrows pulling together in irritation and went back out to the big garden. "We don't have any water," I complained. "Did you check the breaker?" was Mac's question. I had to explain that yes, I had checked the breaker and that it was tripped and I couldn't get it to hold in place. We have a well, you see. Some of the best drinking water in South Carolina runs beneath the ground of Chesterfield County...the best is in Jefferson. We had had to have a new pump put in before we moved in, and have only had minor troubles with it since then. Sure it was an electrical problem and not a pump issue, we began to look for help. As usual, when the help you can depend on to be there isn't there (Craig and Joanne had gone to Tennessee for the weekend) it's difficult to locate anyone else, either. Mac went over to the brick well house and opened the door. He called to me to come there and I joined him. I could hear the plaintive mewling of a kitten. Just one...and we aren't sure how it got in there...only about 2 weeks old, it needed help. It was cold and hungry. I took it into my hands to warm it and then into the house to try to fix it some warm milk. Pump and water issues far from my mind now, I got a bit of warm milk into it, plugged in the heating pad and got one of Mac's woolly sweaters and put it in a plastic tub to warm. After I was sure the little nursery was snug, I placed the baby inside, gave it a snuggle toy to lay against and went to the computer to look for help. I knew that the best alternative was probably going to be Pedialyte, but needed to know how often, and how much. I found a great site and copied the information. Then I went back to trying to find someone to come check the well. Then it was off to CVS to get the Pedialyte and a couple of syringes till I could make it WalMart for the pet nursing bottles and special kitten formulae he would need later. I finally got hold of a nice man who came to check on the well and he found that it had simply overheated, suggesting that we get the switch in the well checked. Thanking him, I went back into the house to check on our new boarder. I still have no idea how the baby got in the well house...It's a mystery.

52 comments:

Merisi said...

Somehow somewhere someone was making sure that this little kitten survived! Seems quite miraculous that you have had your pump break down in order to save it. Good luck to all of you and a wonderful Sunday too in your beeeautiful part of the world! :-)

PAT said...

Sweet story, Sandi. I am so happy you found the kitten and happy too, you heard the neighbor dog and took care of him, also!

I remember the days of being on a well. Interesting when we would lose power for several days and lose water, too! The water was heaven...we're now on county water and the taste just isn't the same!

Pat

Vee said...

Sandi, you're running an animal shelter down there in Chesterfield County. Hope that all your tender ministrations coax the wee one to good health. And how about the dog in the woods? What's up with that?

Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with us! It was fantastic and I hope that a lot more folks give it a try.

Take care today, Nurse Sandi!

Jeni said...

How fortunate it was that both the dog and the kitten managed to find their way near to the home of a true pet lover. Great story, Sandy. Keep nursing that baby now too.

Jamie Dawn said...

Awww what a sweet little kitty. I'm so glad you guys came along just in the nick of time!! I sure hope nobody put that kitten there on purpose.
Well, anyway, you saved the day!!
You also made the doggie very happy. Poor feller needed some grub.

Mima said...

Oh SAndi, it might have felt like the day from hell, but you have certainly made a difference in both the kitten and the dogs life. That kitten looks so cute, and only 2 weeks old, what a mystery that he was in there, I hope that nothing happened to his Mum. Sorry to hear about the dog too, how can people be so cruel? Thank goodness you were around today. Big hugs.

smilnsigh said...

You are such a good person!!!!! And a good thing too, since there are such weird-o people in the world. Like they who left dog, without food/water. And who ever was responsible for there being a tiny kitten, out and able to wander into the well house. Yishhhhhhhhh!!!

Miserable such %^&*&^%$ people!

Mari-Nanci

John-Michael said...

I am so relieved that the kitten (or one of its siblings) had not fallen into the well. That was my first fear with the well pump overheating. Whew!!

Amazingly solid thinking and responses to those unique needs. Your cool-headedness is impressive. Applause!!

LivingTheLife said...

Well, Sandie...I would say there are some really smart animals in your neck of the woods...they all know where to go when they need some attention. I will agree w/whoever said, that it was a miracle or such that your "water pump" happen to go out at the same time the sweet lil' kitty needed rescuing. Hmmmm...I'm thinking angles watch over ALL of God's creatures...and you were just the angel they needed today!! And that poor dog...hope that he is either rescued from those who don't take his care seriously OR they snap out of their selfish behavior...zawls' I'm sayin...can't understand people who neglect these precious little wonders.

BTW...you may want to check that well pump again...mommy kitty could be on the move with more??? Stranger things have happened...we had a mama kitty at the barn (not ours but she adopted our barn) I would put out some kibble and water every day...never getting disturbing her or the kitties...but after a while she up and moved those babies...I don't know if she didn't like us getting too close or if she was just moving them for safety reasons...they seem to have such a great instinct for their babies safety!

YOU ARE A PEACH...thank you for all the little wonders of the world that can't thank you personally! You ROCK!!

Blessings...
Teresa

Sandy said...

The pump didn't work for a reason. I am so glad you found the little one. Bless you for taking care of the dog.

LivingTheLife said...

"never getting disturbing her"

ok...ok...I'm a bit of a nem-naw...don't know how I didn't catch this blazing error...I really do have better grammar than this would lead you to believe...sometimes my fingers move way faster than my brain!!!

T

Lee said...

Sandi, you're a born animal rescue Momma. Looks like you should start building some nice cozy houses and kennels for the strays you seem to be getting adopted by.

As someone said earlier, it may have been a day from hell for you but for those homeless animals it was a day from heaven. God bless you!

Hugs!

NeereAnDear said...

Bless your heart for saving that little kitty... I am allergic to the little buggers... my youngest owns one... used to be two... she is a little devil and a crack up.. and its hard to spend a day at her house however... I love the cutie just the same..

Hope you get your well working soon...

HUGS

JO

david mcmahon said...

``Mutual admiration mode'' - I like that.

Justabeachkat said...

It's a God thing...you were just where you needed to be to help both the dog and the baby kitten. I agree with Teresa...there may be more somewhere nearby. Keep us posted. Have you named it yet?

Happy Sunday sweet friend.
Hugs!
Kat

Kari (GrannySkywalker) said...

Awwww. bless it's little heart. How sweet that little bitty thing looks!

So what was up with the neighbor's dog? Did they skip town or what??

Debra from Bungalow said...

So glad you gave the little kitten a nice warm home. I don't care much for cats so I don't know what I would have done......Maybe there will be more kittens coming, I've seem mama cats move their kittens around like that.
Thank you for feeding the poor dog..... whoever neglected him....
You're so good to our furry friends, Hugs, DebraK

Sandi McBride said...

The owners of the dog apparently had domestic issues and she up and flew the coop, taking nestlings but leaving dog. He came home and it seems dog has gone with he or else the Mrs. has returned for him. I was so glad, just hope he survives the tug of war...
Sandi

Jan said...

Oh thank goodness you were there to save that little life! What a great rescue story!

Jan

Terri said...

Oh my goodness! Have you been back to the well house to see if there's a mama cat looking for her kitten, or moving more kittens in?

Hope you get that pump switch taken care of...what a pain when mechanical things go wrong. But how lucky for that sweet kitty you all went to check!

CatHerder said...

See, everything happens for a reason....Good luck with kitty..try KMR milk replacement...its actually cheaper to buy the powder, then you can mix what you want...make sure kitty is upright when you feed so you dont aspirate her. Prayers for kitty...

Gypsy at heart said...

Poor little kitty. That was quite a find and lucky for the kitten, it was you who found it.

http://wanderingwonderinggypsy.blogspot.com/

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Awww, Sandi, I'm so happy you were able to rescue that kitten. Now, I wonder if you will keep it, it would be hard to give it up if you take care of it from birth.

Hey, thanks for letting me know you made the cookies! I love the idea of substituting, so I might have to try that sometime. If I even mention Splenda for cooking, my hubby scrunches up his face in distaste & swears he can tell if anything is made with artificial sweetener, so it might not work for me. I'd love to do that though, bet it's a lot healthier that way.

xo,
Rhoda

kimmy said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Glad to hear that I am not the only one who does not fart 16 times a day! How is that even possible?

That kitten is precious! Great story!

Kimmy

Anonymous said...

I almost cried imagining that poor kitten out there all by itself. And that poor dog you fed. Aunt Sandy you really are a very kind hearted woman. I love you for it.

aims said...

You certainly were meant to find that kitten - and help the dog too! Your heart must be one of those filled with love and kindness for animals - which means of course that you are one of those special people!

Christine Boles said...

Wow! That's quite a weekend!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the sweet wishes. I love your new baby and hope you much luck. If it doesn't go tp potty by its self get a warm rag and rub it's behind. Their mom licks them there and that is close to it. My Rian worked for a vet and we brought up many kitties left to die.
Goodluck,Brenda

Andree said...

wow, you have the adventures. I am so glad you are healing from that awful fall. Near miraculous if you ask me. Congratulations on the new kitten, she'll be a joy (and bother!!). I worry about the dog. Are you caring for him now that he has been abandoned? Thank you for stopping by! (are nuthatches bandits? how so?)

Jeanne said...

Oh my what a day. You and Mac are such sweethearts taking care of those poor animals. Strange place for a baby kitten alone, could someone have left it. And what's up with the neighbor's dog being left without? {{HUGS}}}

Susie Q said...

Oh sweetie...from all the little ones who can not say it, THANK YOU!!!
I have always said that animals know where to go to be helped. You are a blessing and a sweet and gentle spirit. I am proud to know you.

Love,
Sue

Pam said...

Aw, poor baby! You think it may have been left behind? How's the kitten doing?

Carol said...

Sandi you have your hands well and truly full! Well I supose that kitten had to come to you really...lucky kitty it has found a good Mum!
Carol xx

Cath said...

So glad the kitten and your neighbour's dog found you!

You are a good heart.

Over from David's.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sandi - Years ago one of my kids found a tiny kitten like that, all by itself near our garage, mewing. Our vet surmised at the time that perhaps some mama cat was attempting to move her litter from one place to another, in stages, one kitten at a time. We asked around our neighborhood, but no one knew whose kitten it was. We rescued it, raised it, and it was a wonderful pet. He later went to live with my daughter when she grew up and got her own place.

Thanks for visiting. ;-}

Bobbie

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness, that is such a tiny little kitten. You are such a sweetie to help the poor dog and kitten. Are you going to keep the little thing?

windycorner said...

You were the perfect person to find that kitten. It couldn't be in better hands. Two needy animals in one day might be a record.
Holley

Anonymous said...

You are the angel of lost and frightened pets. Job well done.

Jeff B said...

What a great story. I'm wondering what you're going to name the kitten now.

Unknown said...

Oh how precious! Im sure you read this already, but its very very important you stimulate the kitten to poop and pee... you have to take a cloth, wet and wipe in that area until she goes..
If you want more info as I have raised newborn kittens before just ask :)

Sandy McTier Designs said...

WOW! So glad you were there to help out the doggy and find the kitty.
Hope you have a wonderful week!
Blessings,
Sandy ;)

Diva's Thoughts said...

What an awesome story.

Adla said...

awww...poor little kitty .Sandi to the rescue, you are not the cat lover for no reason I say! have you found a name for it?

kimmy said...

Glad you liked the picture of the snowman. It really is gigantic!

The kids love to ski. We were busy this year with so many activities that we didn't ski as much as I would have like to. Next year we will be out on the slopes more!

Have a great day!

Kimmy

SandyCarlson said...

Your days are full of grace!

Vee said...

Can't walk past without saying hello. I hope that you are doing well and that the kitten is thriving under your care.

Anonymous said...

A broken well and a found kitten.. A coincidence? I think not. Lucky kitty to have been found by you. And what's with the doggie? What happened to him? You are a saint Sandi. xo Lynn

Anonymous said...

We had an experience many years ago when a mama left her babies in one of my insulation trucks while it was parked overnight at a workers house. The kittens (there were 4) were only 2 weeks old and my wife and I raised the 4. We had to trade off since they needed attention every 2 hours, but it all worked out and they became wonderful cats!

I so applaud your action at seeing to the kitten right away (and the dog)- BRAVO!

BTW - I love the idea for the photo record you commented about! :)

Terri Steffes said...

I love cats.

I am a little peeved at your neighbor... hopefully this isn't a common occurance...

Jamie Dawn said...

I'm taking a little time to update my blog roll, and I am adding you!
:-)
It's a pleasure to know you, dear blog buddy.

Country Cottage Chic said...

Poor little kitty! But lucky kitty too as he found you.

Glad you helped the dog too - have the neighbours just left him home alone?

Stacey said...

Ohhh so very glad you found him! I wonder if mama was in the process of moving in and something happened?

We've just this week adopted a baby kitten, only about six weeks old. He's doing wonderfully and definitely brings happiness when he's bouncing around!