Catboy - Eric Walters [48]
“Kittens!”
At the bottom of the hole, surrounding Miss Mittens, were her kittens. I couldn’t tell for sure, but I thought there were four of them. “How many do you see?” I asked.
“I believe there are three or even four little pairs of eyes.”
“How old do you think they are?” I asked.
“It’s hard to tell for sure from this distance, but no more than a couple of weeks old would be my guess.”
“Are they okay?” I asked.
“I try not to do my examinations from ten feet away while staring down a hole, but they do look okay, from a distance. I see no reason why they shouldn’t be fine,” Dr. Reynolds said. “She’s a good mother, right?”
“The best,” I said proudly.
“Some cats are better parents than others,” he said.
“She was good with her last litter,” I explained. “I didn’t even know she was pregnant again,” I added.
“You mentioned you hadn’t seen her lately, so I wondered if this might be the case,” Dr. Reynolds said. “The mother often stays with them in the den until they’re old enough to leave.”
“I didn’t expect her to have another litter so soon. Her last litter can’t be more than six months old.”
“Cats can have litters very often. That’s why feral cat colonies get so large so quickly. And why we try to neuter them if we can catch them,” he added.
“So how do we get them out?” I asked.
“I don’t know if we can,” Dr. Reynolds said.
“But we can’t leave them there. There has to be some way,” I argued.
“I’m open to suggestions, but I don’t know any way,” Dr. Reynolds said.
“Can’t you reach them with the snare pole?”
“It’s too deep for the pole. Besides, even if I was able to snare them, I’d only be able to get Hunter and Miss Mittens. The kittens are too small and too fragile. I’d kill them if I tried to drag them out.”
“What if we tried to dig them out?” I suggested. “We could get a shovel and start digging.”
“It’s jammed under the wrecks. There’s really no place to dig out.”
“I could get Mr. Singh to use the forklift to move the wrecks away. I’m sure he has a shovel or two as well.”
“I’m afraid moving the wrecks might cause the hole to collapse. Even if that didn’t, I’m sure the digging would cause the sides of the hole to cave in and the kittens would be suffocated.”
“But if we don’t get them out, what will happen to them?”
Dr. Reynolds didn’t say anything. He just looked at the ground, which, in a way, was his answer.
Even if the wrecks being removed and the trucks rumbling around the yard didn’t cause a cave-in, the cats wouldn’t survive once construction started.
“But we have to do something,” I said softly.
“I wish there was something we could do,” Dr. Reynolds said. “We just have to hope the den can survive long enough for the kittens to become old enough to leave. Hunter will continue to bring them food, and then maybe he can move them elsewhere. From what you’ve told me, he’s a capable cat. If any cat could do it, it would be him.”
Dr. Reynolds placed a hand on my shoulder.
I was trying hard not to cry, but I didn’t know if I’d be able to hold the tears back.
“Do you think I could be alone?” I asked.
“Of course,” Dr. Reynolds said and walked away.
I stared at the ground and down into the hole. Somewhere in the darkness below sat the two cats and their kittens. I knew there was a chance we could catch Hunter. I was certain he was coming out to try to catch food. Maybe we could snag him when he came out next. But without Hunter, the kittens and Miss Mittens would never survive. And if we left them, they were all going to die anyway.
There had to be some way to save them. If only I could talk to Hunter, convince him to bring his family out. I needed to try.
I sat down on the ground. Dr. Reynolds was gone. Good. Talking to Rocky with Simon peering over my shoulder was one thing. Talking to Hunter with Dr. Reynolds listening in was another.
“Hunter, it’s me,” I said quietly, my voice echoing down the hole. “I know you can hear me.”
I took a deep breath. I didn’t know if he could hear me, but I wasn’t sure what else I could do. I had to say something.