OK...so since you don't know me to well yet, i should have you know that it has been a long time hobby of mine to rescue cats. The current litter of kittens that were recently put in to my life's path happened to be very sick. The sickest litter i have ever had...and i've had quite a few. As we all know, sick kittens can be a very serious, not to mention expensive thing! Then there is this wonderful woman Judy. Judy is one of the most selfless hardworking humans i know. I met her around this time last year because Amanda, a close friend of mine, told me about a litter that was in the Sam's club parking lot. I went there to come to realize these little babies were feral, or not sociable with humans, so they ran from me. I was determined to get them but since this was the first "truly" feral litter i was going to deal with... i needed help. I called the SPCA to see if maybe they could help me and they gave me Judy Cantin's number. I called her and she actually answered, which is a first for me because usually these are the cases that nobody wants to bother with. Judy was so busy with other kittens that she asked if i would be willing to help her foster( taking care of and socializing the kittens till they find permanent homes) the kittens. Without hesitation i said yes. Judy met me at the parking lot that night and gave me a trap. She taught me how to use it and filled me in on the tips that would be helpful to me. Things such as the stinker the food the better! These tips still were not much help for what i was about to encounter. Mind you, i had never dealt with a feral kitten before. SO...i set up the trap behind the dumpster and waited. Judy said to check the trap in a half hour and she should be back by then( she has a cleaning service which keeps her very busy). A half an hour goes by and i went back without Judy because i am extremely impatient. I peered through the darkness to see a little creature, big enough to sit in the palm of my hand, bouncing around uncontrollably inside of the trap. My heart fluttered! it was a kitten and sooo cute! i quickly covered the cage with a sheet like Judy had told me, to calm him down. This is whom i would later call Harley:). Judy arrived minutes later and looked at my prize. She reached in the trap and picked him up by the scruff of his neck and carefully, but quickly put him in a cat carrier then said to me " let's set it up again, and see who else we can get." I was in awe of how rugged and tough he was acting. hissing and spitting! After all, he was only a kitten. Then Judy informed me that kittens that are born in the wild will grow up wild, unless we can catch them and get them used to humans and get them loving homes. I was addicted. I don't really remember too well what the order was....but it took me about a week of going back to the dumpster every night to try and catch more babies. there was 5 all together. Harley, Buffy, Milo, Lola, and Sasha. everyone came around to trusting me except for Buffy and Milo. They were monsters! after countless nights of wrapping them in towels to hold them, hissing scratching and biting me, i was almost going to give up! Judy kept assuring me " they'll come around, just remember the meanest ones are the most scared." Then it happened. I think i was holding Buffy while watching tv and all of a sudden, she started purring and Milo soon after. They had given in and let go of their hate for me!!! ANYWAYS. So they all found loving homes and that was my addiction. Giving them a chance for a good life away from the dumpster and out of the highway next to it. Back to my kitty pillows. Judy has a store in ocean city called MEW to YOU. It's a thrift store type deal that is all donations and she has kitty adoption rooms in the back. The proceeds go to things like food, litter, vet bills, you know. So since this litter i have now was in such bad shape they had to see a vet asap. Because Judy had paid the whole vet bill, i decided to make these catnip pillows and sell them to try and get her some money back. It has been an amazing success and I'm going to run it into the ground! So now for the kittens! They're names are Haku, Binks, And Pippin! And then there was Alice. Sadly, Alice did not make it through the night. They were very malnourished and she was the worst. Watching her suffer was the hardest thing i've had to watch in my life. I guess at some point i asked god, buddha, or whoever was listening, to end her pain. She died about 20 minutes later. If anyone out there is reading.....take a look at this! this guy does a really good job with explaining how to socializing feral kittens this is only part one so if you're interested....check out the other 2:


AND.....the kitty pillows

in memory of Alice<3