I Crossed The Rainbow Bridge

Porch Liter

Names: Blondie, Craig, Jack, Igor

Adoption:  September 15, 2021

Adoption location: Del Rio, Texas

Deaths: Craig, March 2, 2023
                Igor,  March 7th, 2023

Nicknames: none

Now before I go into Nameless's liter, there is another set of kittens that was adopted during the tine Nameless was brought in.

When we took care of Hover, there was another outside cat we watched over. Her name was Missy. A beautiful calico female that would visit us every once in a while. She was super sweet and would let us pet her. But every time she came to us, there was always a new collar around her neck. As though someone claimed her but wanted her to stay outside.

She was also always pregnant. Being a calico, having kittens was her curse. She had a liter of kittens in a dying hedge bush just behind our house. Four beautiful rambunctious kittens that made their home in that dead bush. One kitten was born looking exactly like her mother; her only female with three boys. One being an all orange tabby with a twin of a much darker tabby color and one kitten havjng a white belly with beautiful orange swirls on his tummy side.

I was content of her having her kittens behind the house with a cardboard box for shelter and constant water for the hot days Texas was known for. They didn't trust me and would run away whenever they saw me. I was okay with this. But my husband insisted on bringing them inaide when the news of another winter storm was going to hit.

All four kittens were brought in and all four were all stuck in the room with me.   Besides Ace and Jimmy, they were all related directly. A family that never got seperated. Jack and Igor were the loudest of the bunch, always wailing for attention and loved a good lap when available. But growing up, they were the two boys that were heavy sprayers. Constant cleaning the walls, dressers, even the tv all sprayed on. Craig had not desire to spray.

Blondie reminded me so much of her mother and she too managed to get pregnant. By who, we don't know. Unfortunately, we could not grant her the liter she was going to have and we got her fixed while having the liter be aborted. When we brought her home, she was different. Blondie knew something was off and she became depressed. She would hide under the bed and never cane out. We had broken her heart.

However, one day at work there was another calico kitten just behind the IHop where i worked. I took her home seeing she was still far too young to be away from her momma, I gave Blondie an oppurtunity. Hearing this kitten meow, she bounded from her hiding spot and became a mother. We didn't know she was already lactating until that kitten began to suckle from her nipple. Blondie found herself and her purpose through this kitten of which we named Waffle.

Luckily, a most trusted coworker adopted Waffle once Blondie stopped taking care of her. That kitten cured Blondie of her depression and returned to her normal self. Begging for attention and chattering at us.

But then, tragedy struck.

It hit Craig first.

We watched as Craig withered away, going from a healthy weight to skin and bones. My husband and I bottle fed him liquid food along with water. We kept him isolated from the other cats, even his own siblings in fear of spreading whatever was making him sick. I remember hearing him yowl in the middle of the night but there was nothing to be done. With no money and the vet clinics closed, we could do nothing except hope in the morning, he was going to be okay.

The next morning, I was the one to find Craig dead and curled up in the blanket we laid for him.
Burying him in the back yard, it wouldn't be long until more of our precious babies would be following behind. Igor was the nest of their family. To sustain the same symptoms as Craig had and to die on our bed.