Sole Survivor

Oh and get this...

I thought that Cinder was acting up this morning before the roofing project started but I couldn't keep my eye on her since I was hauling shingles. Both she and Rusty disappeared once people showed up around the house as usual so I didn't think that much about it.

When I got out of the shower and enjoying the freshness of getting all the sweat and shingle-grit off me, I saw that Cinder was considerably thinner and her rear legs were covered in mud.

I knew it. She had the kids while she was off hiding from the strangers. After crawling through all of the unfinished sections of the basement I found that there were a total of three births but only one survived. Cinder seemed to have no clue what was going on and once they were out of her she left them alone.

The kitten is not mewing now - probably exhausted from screaming its tiny lungs out so that Cinder (or me) would hear it and rescue it from the big brown spiders that patrol the basement. Right now it's curled up on a towel in an old laundry basket in a corner of my office. The sheet is an attempt to convince her that the kitten is 'hidden' from prying eyes.

Rusty, however, had other ideas.

He crawled in to the room like a ninja from the Nikotashi clan (hey, can I help it if I have weird dreams?) . Slowly, he extended his head to peer through the holes in the basket and examine the kitling. Cinder wasn't having none of it. When he got too close, she rared up on her hind legs and went after him with the infamous Northern Mouse Fu (somehow learned from the most honorable master Mouse who lived in Athens Ohio. Rusty was more confused than injured and attempted to evade but only fell over his gut in the process.


His curiosity was stronger than his wit and he tried to peer in once again and this time Cinder decided that she was just going to shove him out of the way with her shoulders.

I have no idea if the kitten will survive or if Cinder will try and play the "Let's Move the Kitten" Game a few more times.

Ugh.

For a Tuesday this has been quite an active day. I'm tired.

-T