Sounds from the cold air return

One evening in October, as I stood in our hallway, I heard what I thought might be a squeaky furnace fan. I listened some more and ... heard the sound of tiny meows coming from the cold air return vent. The sounds were echoing through the vent relayed from their location under the house. I immediately suspected Mama Kitty might have produced a second batch.

I called Chris and he was able to come to Eugene from Corvallis to crawl under the house on a kitty safari. There he found four kittens - three all black and one that looked just like "Mama Kitty". We found a transparent Rubbermaid container and put it by the back door w/ a heating pad and towels inside. Each kitten weighed about 8 oz and they snuggled together in the corner of container.

However, Mama Kitty was not very interested in the four blobs of fur. She looked in and walked away. She ate some kitty crunchies, but hissed at a tiny wobbly kitty that got a little too close to the dish. We thought we were going to have to bottle feed the kittens - a daunting task.

The next morning, I sat on the back step w/ mewing kittens in the "bucket" and mama chomping down on crunchies and not very interested in her kittens. I petted her and she peeked in the container, while I petted her some more. The meowing seemed to attract her interest a little. I picked her up and put her in the container and she jumped out, but the kittens meowed louder. I put her in again and she jumped out again. third time was the charm. I convinced her to lay down while I scratched her neck and ears. One kitten latched on, then another and another. She gave one a lick and settled in. From that moment on, she has been a good mom.

As the weather got colder and the rain started, it was time to move from the garden shed to C&Cs garage.



We checked in at PetSmart and talked to West Coast Dog and Cat Rescue volunteer.