This is the adorable story of Westley and Buttercup!
#1 Lost and found
Last summer, two tiny kitties were found left alone in a trash bag that was dumped inside a garbage can.
#2 They named them Westley and Buttercup.
“I brought them in that day and they became a members of our family. They are amazing,” Cathy McCaughan said.
#3 A team effort
Cathy writes: “One of my mom’s colleague heard strange noises coming from a kitchen trash bag and upon searching that bag of trash, found two newborn kitties inside a sealed Ziploc bag.”
“The driver called in his find and my mom told him to take the kitties to the office while calling me to get the kitties help.”
#4 They were so small!
“Their wet fur made them look like just hatched chickens. I pulled the car over to check on them several times between the Oak Ridge trash collection office and my West Knoxville vet. I really believe that they could have easily gone to sleep and never awakened. They were so weak and so small.”
#5 The odds were against them
“The vet was less than hopeful. I brought the kitties home and looked at them. I stared at them when I fed them formula with a syringe because they were too weak to suckle. I stared at them when they slept.”
#6 Round the clock care
“At night, I placed the cat carrier containing the little kitties and bottles of hot water covered with socks, on my bed. It was as close to co-sleeping as I could get.
#7 Constant attention
“I didn’t sleep. For the first few days, I fed them, obsessed over their body temperatures, wiped bottoms with wet cotton balls and stared at them. Well, at night I did something else. I cried.”
#8 They turned a corner!
“The little kitties transitioned to bottles and started to resemble kitties. Kitties that fit in the palm of your hand.”
“The stronger the kitties got, the less worried I became. I began calling the kitties by names as though it was suddenly safe to become emotionally attached in them. That was silly. I could not be more emotionally attached. I love these fluffballs. I love them for fighting very much when all of the odds were against them.”
“I love that my old German Shepherd allows the kitties to run for about ten minutes before she herds the kitties back to a person as if to say, ‘Play time is over. Naptime.’ Yes, she means HER nap, but it is still an amazing thing to watch.”
“I love the way they crawl to my face for kisses. I love the way my children nurture and care for the kittens. I love the tiny little thumps the kitty paws make when we put them on the wood floors for exercise.”
They were so little and helpless when they first came to their new forever home, but just look at them now!
#9 Look at them now!
