Bing was rescued at a truckstop.

Bing

Photo: Bing the cat.

Bing is enough of a kitten that his purrsonality, like his body, is still under construction.

He and his siblings, Tate , Treasure, Tarot, and Tristan were found (with two other siblings who died) at a truck stop.

Maybe their mom was moving them and got interupted by well-meaning humans, or perhaps something happened to her.

Tarot and Treasure were rescued first and dropped off at the Eastern Iowa Veterinary Specialty Center, where they became bottle babies. They were cared for by Jody and Tim who are veterinary technicians when they aren’t feeding bottle babies.

In the meantime, Lily was about to wean her five six-week-old kittens so she could be spayed. We talked her dad into postponing the spay in hopes that Lily would accept the bottle babies and take care of them.

At first Lily just stared at Tarot and Treasure, wondering who they were and why they were all in a cage together. The kittens mewed and mewed. Lily stared at them.

We put them all in a small pet taxi, so they’d have to be touching one another, and within about five minutes, Lily’s milk bar was open for business.

By the time Bing, Tate, and Tristan arrived a number of days later, Lily welcomed them and knew exactly what to do.

Photo: Bing the cat.

Live, Let Live, & Learn—If you happen to find young kittens (or other baby animals) without their mom, please think things through before you act. Bottle babies have very special needs (food, temperature, excretory, etc.) and require expert care. It’s easy to shift into “helping mode.” But momcats do kittencare best!

Unless you are sure mom isn’t coming back, be prepared to quietly observe for awhile. Human intervention is not always what’s best for the animal! To paraphrase Antoine de Sainte-Éxupéry—you become responsible for those you rescue.

One day, Bing, who was caged with his siblings, somehow fractured his right front elbow. We figure he was climbing the front of his cage door and probably got his arm stuck. The joint has fused at about 90 degrees. Bing seems to use his paw intermittently, but it doesn’t slow him down any. He can still run circles around us! There is no ”fix“ for this injury and Bing may have some arthritis as he ages.

Bing is now the last of his litter to be adopted. He will be placed with his mentor, Slappy White, who has been his best friend and done a wonderful job of refining Bing’s feline social skills.