Written by ©Jenna P. (flickr: sabrielicedragon).

I started fostering after my first rescue Stewie who was a Manx Syndrome kitten that passed away at 5 months old.  It really hit me hard, so now I rescue to pay tribute to my baby boy.

All rescue kittens I get are done by ABC's every year. The babies are Briar, Calais, Dezi, Euros, Ferris and Gideon named in birth order. Their mother Nabiki was abandoned in my stores parking lot about 5 weeks into her pregnancy. I was the only person who knew anything about raising kittens and pregnant mothers, so she went home with me. She was a skinny rail, just skin and babies for the most part, and I worried that I was too late in getting her the proper nutrition. But we did as much as possible to get her weight up and keep them healthy. She was fairly tolerant of me. She gave birth on 9/11, which was right on for my guess of a delivery date, an hour after I got home from a wedding. She wouldn't stay in her nest box without me. All 6 babies were born in good health and screaming.

What surprised me was the cat momma was not opposed to my other cats, Adair and Stanley helping out with the kittens. It made me happy to give the kittens two good role models as far as potty training since the mother cat will not use the litter box. I doubt she has ever seen one before.

Photos courtesy of ©Jenna P. (flickr: sabrielicedragon, check out Jenna's website).