Craig and I love Lakeville Brewing Company. Always great food, beer and cider AND they have a dog-friendly patio. Last Thursday we took our 7-month dog Casey and Southfork Animal Hospital people there for a bit of a happy hour. Early into the evening, a waitperson said kids had found a kitten with its umbilical cord still on. Dr. Hancock hurried over to see what was going on and finds a dead kitten still in the placenta and this tiny, premature, live kitten with no mom in sight. Dr. Hancock explained to the mom and kids that there was little chance this kitten would survive but “We will do our best”. She very shortly calls her folks and they arrive with a tiny bottle and kitten milk replacer and Lakeville Brewing staff got her the other items that she needed. As it got dark, a skinny female appearing cat came around looking for food scraps. She was not approachable but we placed the kitten in a box in the shadows to see if she would be interested in it. Either the kitten was not hers or finding food was topmost on her mind as she ignored the mewing kitten.

At that moment, we decided to keep the kitten and bottle feed it overnight and place it with a rescue group in the morning. We also decided to trap the female, spay her and place her in a place where she has sufficient food.

I am sad to say that even though the kitten made it through the night with feedings every 2 hours, it died the next day at the rescue facility. The kitten died where it was warm, being cared for, next to a foster cat. That is all kinds of better than being alone out in the cold.

As I am writing this, the female cat is living at Southfork Animal Hospital. She LOVES her food and hiding behind things in her cage. We will spay her soon and place her.

I want to thank the compassionate staff and management at Lakeville Brewing for helping with this adventure.