The kitten meowed as it was placed onto the scale to be weighed. Siffrin apologized to the little puffball, then remembered that the kitten wasn't able to hear or understand him in the first place. Reassuring pets were given, and the scale gave the number of 172 grams. Siffrin smiled, looking over the kitten's overall size.
"Good and chunky, your mama must've had really good milk before I found you…"
He lifted the kitten from the scale, swaddled it in one of the clean fleece blankets, and began bottle feeding. It had a strong secure latch onto the rubber nipple, and made tiny biscuits as it drank.
"Three…four days old?" Siffrin pondered out loud, "Maybe if we can find your mama, she'd accept you back."
But the kitten surely smelled differently now, being in a whole new area, surrounded by a bunch of new scents. And even if the mama cat was found, there was no gurantee she'd trust either him, Odile, Mirabelle, Isabeau, or Bonnie. She could be housing an illness or two, from living in the wild. Trap making was out of the question; it'd have to be perfectly made with zero room for errors, and once again… there was no gurantee the mama would go straight inside. If all went well and she was eventually captured, she would be angry and defensive. It was doubtful that caring for feral animals was part of Isabeau's training to become a Defender.
If mama cat theoretically was captured, brought to the local vet, given injections, a chip… it would've been a large task to undertake. With resources that nobody really had time to acquire.
But if Siffrin could just find the mama cat, maybe in a bush, tending to her little ones…introduce her baby back to her… the kitten would grow up as it should, surely?
They didn't want to think that this poor kitten was abandoned intentionally. Siffrin knew that due to potential birth defects and illnesses, mother cats tended to…leave them. Or worse…
Tears pooled in Siffrin's eye, as they shook their head. They refused to think about any harm coming to this innocent, blind, deaf, fuzzy and chunky little lifeform. Tiny, but thriving in everyone's care.
In a way, this kitten was just like him. Lost. Alone. Needing food and shelter. Siffrin damned the idea of this poor kitten being forced to go through what he had to, before finally finding a new family. Isabeau, Bonnie, Odile, Mirabelle, and him… they were all this kitten's family now. They were going to do everything they can for it, so it could thrive and flourish in it's new environment.
The little puffball wiggled it's ears as it nursed from the bottle. Just like before, the rubber nipple was Crafted to smell like a mama cat's tummy.
"I can't wait until you get bigger," Siffrin cooed, "And can see us, hear us, meow at us…"
"I hope you'll like your toys when the time comes."
He glanced at the clock, it was still nighttime. But when the morning sun would greet everybody's faces as they lay in their beds, the vet clinic would be visited. Siffrin prayed for there to be no health complications.
Please be healthy. Please be healthy. Please be healthy.
Siffrin couldn't lie. They were so anxious. But holding the little kitten closely to them, petting it… their soft fur wicked away all their worries.
"Small and precious, just like a gemstone."
Teeny tiny clicks were heard, and Siffrin smiled. The little one knew it was safe.
It was only in this world for a handful of days so far, but already Siffrin loved it so much. Their heart was soaring through mountaintops!
Then, it was time to gently burp the kitten and wipe it's face clean with a baby wipe. Followed by another weigh. The number on the scale read a tiny increase in grams.
"Was that a good meal, starling?" Siffrin cooed, scratching under the kitten's chin.
"You must be tired, so let's get you back to bed for a couple hours."
The kitten was gently returned to it's soft and warm nest, but a tiny claw snagged onto Siffrin's glove as he was pulling away. Kittens couldnt retract their claws at this age.
"It's okay," He said lovingly with gentle strokes, "You won't be alone forever."
One more hug was given to the puny fuzzy lifeform that could only squeak and wiggle.
"Sleep well. Grow big and strong."
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