March 29, 2024

Dill, the rescue kitten

My twin sister, Trish, and I have always been animal lovers. Growing up, we would usually have two or three outside cats roaming around my parents or my grandparents house to play with. We lived in town, but in a small, rural community having stray cats around was nothing unusual. The ones we cared for knew they could always come to our house for food and a little attention.

In our adulthood, Trish and I have both upgraded to inside cats to care for every day and not just the days they decided to come around.

Trish’s road to getting a cat took a little work on her part. Her husband Justin loves dogs, but he has a slight allergy to pet dander. That didn’t keep him from wanting or getting a dog, rescuing their sheltie Scout the same year Trish and he started dating. Cats on the other hand, he had no interest in having around the house.

That all changed when my husband’s cat Dora had four kittens. Trish fell in love with the runt of the litter and after a little convincing, they welcomed him into their home. They named him Boo to keep with their “To Kill A Mockingbird” name theme.

Despite Justin’s hesitancy to have a cat in the house, it is very clear in the two years since they’ve had him Justin loves that cat just as much as Trish does.

Almost two months ago, Trish and Justin found themselves in a position they never expected. On that mild September evening, they had their windows open to allow the nice fall air into their home. They heard a pitiful cry coming from somewhere outside. After trying to ignore the sound, they finally broke down and investigated where the noise was coming from. Across the street in their neighbor’s yard was this tiny kitten that looked scared and all alone.

They knew their neighbors were out of town and didn’t own a cat. On top of that, there was no mama cat in sight. Unable to stand the cries of the kitten, they decided to bring him into their home. This has started their whirlwind journey of them literally rescuing this kitten.

They were both non committal at first about keeping this unexpected new addition, both saying they would nurse him back to health and then try to find him a home. I knew better. Well, at least I knew what my sister would do. She’d fall in love with the kitten and not be able to give him away.

That is exactly what has happened.

Calling him Itty Bitty Kitty as his unofficial name, they took the little guy to the vet. He had fleas, worms, ear mites, an upper respiratory condition and a terrible ringworm infection that nearly cost him his life. He weighed all of one pound, and he was estimated to be about four weeks old. They got him the meds he needed and gave him countless flea baths because he was too young for flea treatments. As he started to get well, the kitten began to show a personality that was irresistible.

Trish and Justin finally gave in, and fully welcomed him into the family. They named him Dill in honor of Scout and Jem’s next door neighbor from the book and where they found him that fateful September day.

I’ve had the chance to meet the little guy on a couple occasions now and he is growing more and more every day. He is now well over two pounds and all of his fur is growing back with the ringworm nearly conquered. He’s getting more feisty by the day, with all the kitten energy coming in full force.

How’s Boo with the new addition? With all of Dill’s ailments, the cats have had limited interaction. They have had the opportunity to sniff around each other for brief moments, but next week is the true test when all of Dill’s meds are complete. I’m sure Boo will adjust to the little guy just fine and will be delighted to have a playful companion. Scout will be her usual calm self and allow the kitten to practice pouncing on her as she did with Boo.

I hate to think what would have become of Dill had Trish and Justin not found him. People who rescue and care for animals are my kind of people. A little kindness goes a long way.

Contact Pam Pratt at
pampratt@newtondailynews.com