This story is written by one of Berkeley County PAWS' volunteers, Camille Crocker. Camille cares for our cats and kittens in PetSmart, making sure they have everything they need - food, toys, treats, clean laundry, and as many hugs as they can stand. Camille has also recently become a foster mom to a wonderful stray kitten named Francis, and Francis' baby - Oliver. Here is their story.

Francis settled down between the trash cans as she felt the rain fall against her already wet fur. How can it still be raining? She knew it wouldn’t be long now. Her body felt heavy and tired. It was hard to believe that just seven months ago her mother had been caring for Francis as a newborn kitten. It surprised her when the labor started; the pain was unlike anything she had experienced in her short life. She struggled to make a place big enough to lie down and bring her babies into the world.

Francis was startled by a noise that seemed too close for her to ignore. She scarcely had time to think before the animal was upon her. She jumped to her feet, her little body racked with pain, and she ran for her life and the lives soon to be in her care. She hadn’t made it far when she was forced to stop and deliver a baby on the sidewalk as the rain poured around her. She glanced behind her and didn’t see the animal, but she had to find safety. Her first baby had to be left behind. She saw a bush ahead that could provide her with enough cover to deliver in safety and she ran towards it. She collapsed in exhaustion, and it was there that she delivered her second baby, Oliver.

Francis lay in the rain with Oliver next to her, hoping that the cover of the bush would give her some reprieve from her predator. If only she could get some rest. She lay there for a time and cleaned baby Oliver as best she could. She was still a kitten herself, but she could only think of her baby left on the sidewalk. She pulled herself to her feet and crept back to the place her baby had lain. As she came closer, she thought she must not have the right place. Her baby was gone. Had the animal followed her and taken it as his prize? Helpless and standing alone in the drizzle, she had to return to Oliver.

She could smell the Kind Man and his friend when she returned to Oliver, but her kitten was not to be found. Then suddenly, he was there. The Kind Man scooped Francis in his arms and took her inside. There she found Oliver waiting for her in a soft bed. She curled her tired body around him and drifted to sleep, finally safe and almost dry.

Oliver, safe in foster

It was here that Francis and Oliver came into my life. I picked them up when I was called by Amelia and told that a man who cares for feral cats had kindly rescued her and her tiny kitten. Thankfully, her baby on the sidewalk had also been rescued and given to another mother cat. Though the baby was accepted, his traumatic birth allowed him only a day in this world. Amelia also found another sibling of Oliver’s but help was too late for that baby too. Francis is now caring for Oliver in the safety of my home. She is fed, cared for, and most of all – she is loved. She is loved for her courage, her sweet nature, and her patience with me.

There are hundreds of cats like Francis out there and there doesn’t have to be. Please spay and neuter your pets, for their sake and for the sake of all the little Olivers who need forever homes.

Photos courtesy of Camille Crocker.
And for those who follow my blog - the Kind Man is Mr. Gould.