Well, it’s official; kitten season is booming again. At last count, Tabby’s Place had close to 20 little ones in our care, from itty bitty teeny tiny babies, to kittens-on-the-verge-of adolescence. Kitten season has come in distinct waves this year; we had a slow spell over the summer, but that’s history now!
The arrival of new kittens wasn’t the only thing that slowed over the summer, though. While most members of the first kitten rush (the Cheese kittens, the Critter Litter) were snapped right up by their forever families, we had a few darlings who, quite inexplicably, stayed with us much longer than we expected. Case in point: Basil.
Basil was a little firecracker from day one. He arrived at Tabby’s Place a singleton, hungry and alone. And hungry. He was only about three weeks old when he came to us, and such a little kitten can’t yet stay on his own. Basil hit the jackpot when he went home with Karina to be fostered, fed, and, well, mothered. Kittens so young don’t usually make the transition from feeding from their mothers to a bottle well, so Karina was prepared to tube feed Basil until he was a good bit older and stronger.
Karina hadn’t reckoned on Basil’s insatiable drive for food, though. He had been with her for just one day when he made the switch to a bottle, and he never looked back!
As Basil grew, he kept on eating. And eating.
And eating. The general rule with kittens is that they get to free-feed; that is, they get to eat as much as they want. Growing kitties need nutrition, after all. But Basil was in a class all his own. For the first time in her long history of raising orphaned kittens, Karina had to limit the baby’s food. When Basil was only just the size of a can of wet cat food, he would eat a full can of wet cat food. He didn’t just have a hollow leg – he must have had some means to send the food to an alternate dimension. How else could a kitten eat a dish of food equal to his own mass?
So Karina cut Basil’s feedings back to half a can at a time. No dice. He’d scream at her to feed her more, even though anyone with common sense could see that he’d had enough. Finally she found the right way to feed him – little servings, fed very (very) frequently. At least that way his stomach would have a chance to digest a bit before he’d toss the next meal back. He also learned to trust that he only had to wait so long for his next meal, so he didn’t need to eat everything in sight, every time he saw it! Good thing, too, or he’d be the size of an elephant by now.
Basil graduated from foster care when he was about seven weeks old, and came back to Tabby’s Place to live in June. And then he stayed here, and he stayed here – all the way through the summer and into September. How could anyone resist this little charmer? We couldn’t understand.
As is so often the case with our wonderful cats here, it was just a matter waiting for the right person to arrive. And Basil’s time finally came. Earlier this month, Basil’s person walked through the door, and it was love at first sight. After a looooong wait through the summer, Basil is now happily ensconced in his forever home, where he can love and be loved (and presumably get loads of wet food on a daily basis).
Thank you so much for supporting Basil while he waited for his special someone to arrive. Now we can all celebrate that his home was definitely worth the wait!
Special PS: You have an awesome opportunity to meet all of the kittens we still have this month, when Tabby’s Place invites you to Catoberfest on Saturday, October 1st. Click here for full details.
Can’t join the kittens in person for the big day? No worries – you can still participate. Click here to bid in the Tabby’s Place cats’ silent auction, running now through September 26th. We’ve got oodles of goodies, from trips to trinkets to clothes to cuisine, and every penny you bid will help sweeties like our little kittens. Thank you so much!