Strange Sounds - Part 2

…Continued: Realizing the company owners had just spent a considerable amount of money renovating the place, the thought of cutting a hole in the wall seemed catastrophic.

The Rescue

I called the owners and it turned out they already had a call in to the city animal control office. Someone was expected to come out soon.

I waited and waited. The kitten’s cries got weaker, as if it were exhausted. Then they ended completely. I had visions of a dead cat trapped inside the wall for months, and imagined the ensuing dead animal odor. I could see myself trying to work amongst the rank vapors that would undoubtedly interfere with my ability to concentrate.

The crying started again with renewed vigor. Apparently, the little feller had just been napping. I decided that if this little guy got out of that wall alive, I would take it home and name it Wally.

Someone finally showed up from the animal shelter and climbed up into the attic. The Momma cat had apparently had her babies up there, and this little guy had fallen into a crevice and gotten stuck between the wall panels. The man fished it out by lowering a dish towel that it clawed on to, and came back downstairs with a tiny red tabby kitten – screaming off the top of its lungs! He explained how it had been trying to climb up to him, gotten almost all the way up, and then fallen back down – over and over again.

I later found out it was a female, but the name Walli stuck. She was estimated to be only about 4 weeks old and apparently not even weaned, since she had no idea what to do with cat food. But she sure was hungry! She had the strongest voice I have ever heard in a kitten, and cried and cried for food and for her Momma. So I bought some cat formula and fed her with a tiny bottle the first few days.

She quickly learned how to lap out of a bowl, and was eating regular cat food in no time.

A curious thing I learned during the bottle feeding stage is that cat babies don’t know how to go to the bathroom.

Continued…