While Jas and I were out running last week on the Jordan River trail we came across what I thought at first was a ferret but it turned out to be two little kittens playing on the side of the path. This seemed like an odd spot for kittens to be hanging out since it wasn’t near any homes so on our way back we kept a lookout for these little guys and sure enough they were still in the same place chilling in the bushes.

We realized that they must have been abandoned by some irresponsible moron so we really could only consider one course of action. We ran home and grabbed a cardboard box, some tuna fish, and flashlights. Then we literally ran back in the moonlight to where we found the kittens, which was over a mile and a half away from our house, and used the fish to lure them out of the thick bushes and river grasses. It worked; they came out when they smelled the fish but to our surprise there weren’t just two of them, there were four and a very tired and skinny looking mama.

We had been planning on catching the little guys, taking them home with us, and keeping them until we found them good homes but the presence of their mother changed our approach. We didn’t want to separate the babies from their mama but we didn’t think we could catch the mom so we fed them all and left them to their mother’s watchful care.

We have made the 3 mile round trip to these cats nearly every day since then, either on foot or on our bikes, to feed them. They have become more used to us and we plan on trapping them soon so they can begin the process of finding loving homes. We have conversed with several animal rescue organizations about these furry rascals and the consensus on their origins so far is that they were probably semi-feral barn cats before they were dumped by the river and therefore have had somewhat limited human contact. This would explain why they seem relatively used to humans but still not too anxious to associate with us. The experts we have talked to also believe that it is very likely that the mama cat was abused or neglected based off her demeanor.

Sometimes I am ashamed to be a human; it is unfortunate that intelligence and conscience do not always go hand in hand. Those poor little river cats are adorable and anyone that could discard them like yesterday’s trash, leaving them to starve or fend for themselves, obviously has the moral fiber of a cockroach. We hope that someone can offer these tiny cats caring homes and show them that not all people are unkind. We have been working with a couple of great local animal charities, Four Paws Rescue and No More Homeless Pets, to make that happen. I will update all you curious animal lovers on the outcome of our feline adventures when the situation is completely resolved.