It’s here, it’s finally here! Kitten season has officially begun at Tabby’s Place with the arrival of our first litter just last week. Our newest arrivals, Mung, Lentil, and Garbanzo, were brought in with their mama, Edamame, and if this isn’t a tale about babies having babies!
Edamame is hardly grown herself – she’s still a few months shy of her first birthday – and she was part of a feral colony in Hunterdon County. As chance would have it, the Hunterdon animal control folks were on site the day Edamame gave birth to these three adorable boys, and good thing. We’re not sure why, exactly, but Edamame was not equipped physically or mentally to be a mother (think “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant”.) She had no milk, and she actually walked away from the kittens immediately after they were born, not even bothering to clean them of their placentas.
The animal control officer (aka kitten hero) stepped in to help the babies, cleaned them, and brought the whole Bean family to us. It was clear that Edamame was not going to be able to mother the kittens, so the three boys are being raised as bottle babies by our vet, Dr. C. They’ve been with her for about 10 days now, and she reports that “they’re doing great, nursing, peeing and pooping with alacrity.” How’s that for a good start?
And these sweet little boys are already learning to master the camera, too. What an adorable Easter photo!
Edamame, you’ll be glad to know, has settled in well herself, and has left her brief stint at motherhood behind her. Now she can go back to being a not-quite-kitten-anymore again.
As you know, most of the kittens we take in at Tabby’s Place are orphans, and they are among the neediest and most helpless of strays. Raising orphaned kittens takes help from all of us, and you are already a part of the team by sponsoring the Kitten Fund. This month, you have the opportunity to get a little more hands-on, and learn the basics of bottle feeding and neonatal care at our Bottle Baby Boot Camp. This event, on Sunday, April 29 at 2:00 pm at Tabby’s Place, will be lead by Dr. C., and you’ll have a chance to meet other kitten rescuers there. We hope you can join us that afternoon; please RSVP to our Sanctuary Operations Manager, Danielle, either at dr@tabbysplace.org, or 908-237-5300, ext. 450.
And whether you can make it to Boot Camp or not, you are an integral part of kitten care here. Thank you for supporting our littlest residents, including Mung, Lentil, and Garbanzo – our very own Beanie Babies!