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Home > Out of the Cage! > October 2004 > Success Story: Foster Home Gives Mimi a Second Chance Success Story Foster Home Gives Mimi a Second Chance Mimi's story not only describes an orphaned infant kitten's journey toward a happy ending, but also provides a foster family's memoir of an unforgettable fostering experience. Late one night, Jesse Oldham of Slope Street Cats, a feral cat organization in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood, received a frantic call from a neighbor. The neighbor had taken in a tiny gray and white kitten, only a day or two old, with its umbilical cord still attached, from a Good Samaritan who found the kitten near her home. The newborn had somehow become separated from her mother, believed to be one of the local feral cats that so far have eluded the group's efforts to trap her. The mother cat was nowhere to be found. Jesse immediately devised a plan. First, she arranged for the neighbor to care for the kitten for the next 24 hours, and provided her with KMR milk replacer and feeding instructions. Next, she contacted the Mayor's Alliance, asking for help in locating a foster home for the kitten. Despite the scarcity of volunteers equipped to foster kittens — particularly newborns that require bottle-feeding every three hours, day and night — the Alliance's Janell Granier stepped forward without hesitation. Janell converted her spare bathtub into a nursery, stocked up on KMR and canned kitten food, and brought four-day-old "Mimi" home.
At about 10 days old, Mimi's eyes began to open. "I always wonder what goes through the minds of orphaned kittens when they open their eyes and see for the first time the creature that has been feeding and caring for them," said Janell. "Mimi was very accepting of me, and after eating, she always wanted to snuggle by my neck until she let out a burp — sometimes delicate, sometimes surprisingly loud for such a little tyke." Each day Janell monitored Mimi's weight, which increased nicely. When Mimi reached two weeks of age, those middle-of-the-night feedings became unnecessary; daytime feedings at five-hour intervals were sufficient. As she grew larger and stronger, and began to gain muscle control in her legs, playtime with Mimi became almost as important as her feedings. "She craved attention from her humans," Janell explained. After two more weeks, Mimi mastered use of the litter box, and was upgraded from the bathtub to the bathroom floor. Her muscle control continued to improve. "It was such a happy sound to hear this single kitten, whose life began so perilously, playing with a ball inside the closed bathroom," Janell remembers.
When Mimi reached seven weeks of age, she made her maiden visit to the vet for her first vaccination and worming. "She's a real little New Yorker now," said Janell. "She rides in her cat carrier through the subways and the streets of the city without a peep." At the vet's office, Mimi delighted the staff with her antics — playing with the syringe filled with the medicine that would destroy any hidden parasites she might have, and squirming playfully while being held for her vaccination. Today, Mimi still gets plenty of "alone time" in the bathroom to ensure that she gets long, uninterrupted naps necessary for proper growth. But she also spends lots of time out with the main household, which includes three resident cats, a Mom-cat rescued earlier this year and still awaiting adoption, and a Bullmastiff adopted four years ago from American Bullmastiff Association Rescue Service. Although she was a bit wary of all the "huge" creatures she encountered the first few days, and dove under nearby furniture when they approached her, Mimi has learned that everyone is by and large accepting of feline babies. She is becoming more and more confident as she explores the apartment. Mimi will likely be ready for adoption by the second week in October. Until then she will continue to grow and gain confidence in her ability to deal with new situations. If you are interested in adopting Mimi, please contact us at info@AnimalAllianceNYC.org or stop by and meet Mimi at AdoptaCat Day at the CFA/Iams Cat Show New York in Madison Square Garden on Saturday, October 9. How You Can Help Become a Foster Family Fostering saves lives. It can be an incredibly rewarding experience for an individual or family. Currently we don't have enough foster homes for all of the abandoned kittens found in NYC. If you have the time and energy, and don't mind some sleep-interrupted nights in the beginning, please consider becoming a foster home for an infant kitten. If you're concerned that a feline infant might be too much to handle, consider fostering a slightly older kitten. At seven weeks, Mimi is an easy foster, requiring only three feedings a day — in the morning, in the afternoon around 5:00 p.m., and just before bedtime. To learn more about becoming a foster family, please visit the foster page of the Alliance web site. Volunteer with Your Local Feral Cat Organization You can help reduce the number of kittens born into precarious circumstances like Mimi – abandoned, alone, at risk of succumbing to hunger, cold, or violent situations. Volunteer with a local feral cat organization. The following organizations, listed by borough, are members of the New York City Feral Cat Council: Manhattan American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Queens CSM Stray Foundation (USA) Inc. Brooklyn To meet some of the other amazing NYC cats and dogs awaiting new homes, find an Alliance Participating Organization (APO) near you.
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Although
small in stature, Mimi came with an enormous appetite. Immediately
after arriving in her new foster digs, she guzzled two teaspoons
full of KMR, then curled up next to Heartbeat Mom (a specially designed
stuffed animal that features a mechanized "heartbeat"
that simulates a live "mother") and slept undisturbed.
Later that day, she gulped down four more teaspoons full of KMR
and, when stimulated, urinated abundantly. She curled against Janell's
chest and purred for several minutes, then burped. Eating, relieving,
burping, cuddling — all good signs, noted Janell. "I'm
always amazed at the strength some of these little ones have,"
she commented.
At
five weeks, when Mimi began nibbling on Janell's fingertips after
eating her milk replacer, Janell took a small amount of canned kitten
food on her hand and held it in front of the kitten's face. Suddenly
Mimi was eating solid food! For the next few days, Janell continued
to feed her milk replacer, then follow up with the canned food.
Gradually her body adapted to the change in diet. Several days after
her first nibbles of canned food, Mimi had mastered eating from
a saucer.