Dipstick

Last week Daniel and I made an addition to our family. The story is as follows...

A delightful thunderstorm was rolling through as Daniel was leaving for work. I say delightful because I knew that the dark sky and rumbles of thunder would make it easy to sleep in. Little did I know how much a little meow could disrupt this. I heard something outside my window, but I thought it was just a bird, but after a little while I knew it had to be a cat. "No big deal," I thought, "the cat will move along if I ignore it." Didn't happen. Finally I knew there would be no sleeping in and I ventured to see what was out there. I was expecting a cat, but what I found was a little fluff ball that was getting rained on. I tell you God made no mistakes when giving animals survival skills. I couldn't help but bring it in. I gave it a little milk and thought about what to do with it (keep in mind this was after I called my parents to see what to do.) I was completely ready to give the kitten to the animal shelter if need be and there was a momma cat running around outside our house. Either option seemed smart, but an unfortunate/fortunate attachment had formed on my part. So I told Daniel that if after leaving the kitten outside the whole night and the mom hadn't claimed it we could keep the kitten. Daniel thought about it as we watched the kitten through an open window. Suddenly the kitten was halfway inside the window after it had climbed the brick on the side of our house and jumped through the window. This was the only convincing Daniel needed to agree that the kitten was worth keeping. Well the kitten was still here in the morning...

So we became the proud parents of a wall climbing, cute kitten. Still, this cute kitten had fleas and since most flea medicines can't be used on cats under 12 weeks, Dawn, which kills fleas immediately, is the best alternative. I didn't know that fleas took blood from their victim, but apparently anemia to the point of death is a leading cause of death for kittens. Let's see if you can do a problem solution scenario...Fleas, possible anemia, no flea medicine (problem), solution? You guessed it, a bath with Dawn soap. Daniel was great enough to wear tube socks (so his arms didn't get scratched) and help me bath the kitten in the kitchen sink. Keeping a cat in suds for 5 minutes is not for the faint of heart and it's true that there's nothing sadder than a wet cat.

Prior to the bath, Daniel had been insistent that the kitten be named Dipstick because of the tail coloring (see picture). I tried to come up with an alternative, but it seemed to be a losing battle, and after I considered Daniel's willingness to give the kitten a bath, it seemed as though there was no choice, so Dipstick it is. Once dried and flea free, Dipstick is a fluffy kitten and an enjoyable companion. We are still working on whether it's a boy or girl, but all in good time.

Dipstick made a trip to Hutchinson this past weekend as Daniel and I traveled there for a wedding. My parents got to be kitten sitters for a while and I'm concerned/excited to see what they will be like when we bring a human baby. My dad has Dipstick as the photo background for his phone, and when talking to my mom on the phone yesterday, she asked me how Dipstick was doing before showing the slightest concern for my well being. It seems as though they are the proud grandparents of a kitten.