Trey

For those of you who know me on Facebook, this is an update.
For the rest of you, this is an introduction.

There's a new member in my household.

My mom was leaving food out for a feral calico and her two three-month-old kittens.
One kitten was yellow, the other a tuxedo black and white.
While I was pet-sitting, my mom said the cute little black one disappeared.
She figured a coyote got him--it's a hard life for strays, with coyotes, other animals, traffic...
I had a weird feeling he was trapped somewhere, but I brushed off the thought as silly.
I should know by now, however, to listen to my intuition--it's usually right on target.

I went over to my mom's to sort through some boxes.
I have a lot of stuff stored out back (placed there when I first started renovating my bedroom, but kept there now because I knew the mama cat was hiding beneath the tarps. I figured it was keeping her safe).
I heard some clawing on the fence, and I just assumed it was the mama sharpening her claws.
It wasn't, but I didn't investigate.

Almost a full week after my mom noticed the black kitten was missing, I spent the night at her house, and couldn't sleep for all the mewing outside.
I got up three times to find out where the crying was coming from, but didn't see anything.
Was the yellow kitten caught in between some boxes? Did the mama have another kitten?
Finally, at almost 6 a.m., it was still dark outside, so I took a flashlight out to see if I could find the kitten.
I saw the yellow one outside my door playing, so I knew he was okay.
The light from my flashlight caught the reflection of eyes, and wow, it was the black kitten.
How was he possibly able to survive for a week without food or water?

There's a gate near my mom's pool made of old skinny pickets.
The kitten must have tried to climb over the top, but his back left leg slipped between two of the boards and he was caught, hanging there.
The boards are wide at the top, but get closer at the base, so as he struggled to get free, his foot got wedged in there.
He had a compound fracture in two places.
He had not been visible because of the fence line, and my mom couldn't hear him from inside the house.
Thank God I came home when I did!

I was beside myself, trying to figure out how to free him.
Remember he's feral, so even the sight of me sent him into hissing, spitting, and spinning.
God, it was so sad and scary.
I got online to try to find someone to help me.
Alone, I couldn't figure out how to get the boards apart.
The county animal control said I live in the city (uh, my mom pays county taxes),
and the city said there was nothing they could really do. Huh?
Thankfully, they did have the name of a volunteer rescue organization.
A lady came over, and together we were able to break the fence, free the kitten, and get the kitten into a carrier.

Another woman from the rescue organization suggested I take the kitten to a vet that is familiar with feral cats.
We walked in, and the vibe was so off for me that I got up and left.
I took the kitten to emergency, and they were wonderful.

They couldn't save his leg, but they did save his life.
The surprising part is he is totally mellow and sweet!

Right now he is isolated from my other cats so he can heal.
He gets two kinds of medicine for a week.
The surgeon said "cats are strong" and that he'll adapt to having three legs just fine.

Look how cute the circle is on his chin

The vet said he weighs 1.88 pounds, so he's tiny.
Judging by his appetite, I have a feeling he won't be small for long :)

The name Trey initially came about because "tre" in Italian means three (you know, three-legged kitty).
But Trey is also a cute boy name, and his sweetness so reminds me of my beloved Terry, and so many of the letters are the same that it just feels right.