By Adria L. Henderson

and Lisa N. Peterson

I knew something was wrong as soon as I heard Kelly’s voice on the phone.

“I’ve got a huge problem,” she said. Kelly Mayo, a Newtown landscaper, had found a litter of feral kittens under a fallen tree in Fairfield. The tree had killed the mother and one of the three kittens. Two of the kittens were still alive.

Only about one week old, their eyes not yet open, the two kittens would need immediate attention if they were going to survive. We started making calls to everyone we knew who might be able to take on the daunting task of kitten feedings, every four hours, around the clock.

An hour later, serendipity came to visit. I had an appointment to meet a new pet-sitting client. The Hunter family – Linda, Arthur and their children April, Courtney and Travis, of Great Ring Road, Newtown – had a female Rottweiller named Berlin, a black mini-poodle named Simba, Felix the ferret and a female cat named Mona, who had adopted the family a few months before.

When I arrived to meet the pet family, Linda Hunter happily told me I would be pet sitting for a few more pets than she had planned on. Their cat Mona had had a litter of three kittens five days before. One look at Mona and I knew she would the perfect step-mom for our little orphans.

But do I ask a perfect (albeit an animal-loving) stranger to take on the responsibility of two additional pets? I was reminded of one of my favorites philosophies, “There are no coincidences.” Linda Hunter loved the idea!

A call to Kelly found that the kittens were still in her car and she was about 45 minutes away. Arrangements were made to meet at the Hunters in an hour.

“Have butter ready” Kelly said before she hung up. Since Kelly was born and raised on a farm in Iowa, I decided she must have a really good reason to ask for butter. The closest we could find in the house was “I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter” ®. I decided if I couldn’t believe it wasn’t butter maybe the kittens wouldn’t either.

Kelly arrived 45 minutes later with two adorable, tiny kittens in a cardboard box burrowed into her coat. Their eyes weren’t even open yet. But they were mewing, crawling around (barely) and looked healthy. One was a male, an orange tabby, and the other a little tortoise shell female.

Kelly took a spoonful of the butter, covered her hands with the now warmed butter and smeared it into the kitten’s fur and said, “The mother will lick the butter off. By the time she’s finished the kittens will have her scent and she should accept them.”

As soon as Kelly put the butter-covered kittens in the box with the other kittens, Mona started licking the butter off the orphans. Miraculously, within 10 minutes both kittens were nursing with their new mom and brothers. When I left, some 40 minutes later, Mona, her three gray male tabbies, her new baby boy and, her only little girl, were all peacefully asleep together.

Three days later I would be pet sitting for the Hunter household and would be able to watch the progress of the new family.

The personalities of the kittens were already apparent when I arrived. Mona’s three original kittens were crawling around as expected. Then there was “Trouble,” the orange tabby orphan. He had clearly taken charge, pushing his way through the crowd at feeding time. He was almost as big as the other males, his eyes were wide open, even though he was a few days younger than his brothers! The little girl, “No Trouble,” was small, but doing well. Linda told me that for the first few days she put the two orphans in alone with Mona to make sure they were getting enough to eat. The plan worked. They were a family.

The sight of this mixed family who took to each other without hesitation is captivating. Watching the kittens interact and begin to play is a joy . But watching Mona, feed, play, sleep, love and snuggle with all her children, birthed and adopted, is an absolutely extraordinary sight. We can all learn a lesson from this act of unbridled love and generosity of spirit.

Anyone interested in a miracle kitten?

Adria L. Henderson and Lisa Peterson, owners of Safe at Home, a Newtown- based Pet Sitting business, contribute Animal Lifestyles. Write to us at PO Box 427 Bots ford, Ct. 06404 or e-mail us at animallifestyles @usa.net. We welcome our reader’s response.