Our tale begins as many have before… with the arrival of a new and mysterious character. In this instance it happened to be a sweet little cat that showed up one day outside the store.
Pam (one of our vendors) took great care to make sure she was fed (several times a day) as she looked quite famished all the time. Her ravenous appetite had us wondering if perhaps she was a momma taking care of kittens somewhere. Our attempts to follow her back to her home were always unsuccessful. She was quite adept at giving us the slip. Our curiosity was finally appeased one morning when tiny meows could be faintly heard within the walls and ceiling near one of our vendor’s booths. Anissa from Vintij Beach (another vendor in the store) was quick to add a helping hand and search for the source of the kitten cries.
With no easy access available to reach the kittens, we had to call in for reinforcements. Luckily Mark was there and ready to jump in. With the help of a saw and a little elbow grease, Mark was able to open up a section of the wall.
Reaching into the dark, Anissa rescued a startled and helpless kitten that had most likely fallen between the narrow walls and got herself royally stuck.
Our continued efforts to find more kittens involved lifting up ceiling tiles, climbing up on the roof and walking through the store quietly listening for more meows. After a couple days of this, we realized Momma Kitty must have moved her brood when she realized the crawl spaces above the store were not a suitable environment for raising kittens.
Anissa took our little wall kitten home to temporarily foster it until it could be adopted out. Her children had other plans and promptly fell in love with the kitten. They named her Stampy and have officially given her a forever home.
Stampy’s other siblings finally made their appearance one evening when we watched Momma Kitty trek out across the parking lot after her evening meal. Hanging out on the wood pile that belonged to our neighbors happened to be the final three characters to our story.
We now have Mama Kitty and her three new arrivals all spade and neutered. Everyone’s had their shots and even dipped for good measure. They’ve been resting from these ordeals in the store’s office.
During the day they can be found running and playing throughout the large office, making a mini mess of their kitty litter and playing king of the mountain on the office chair. While we love these kittens, we would love even more to be able to find them forever homes as well.
Mama Kitty will most likely stay with us at the store, but if anyone is interested in adopting any of the kittens – please feel free to contact us. Help us give these kittens the happily ever after they deserve.