“You will pay!” croaks a kitten with a creaking voice, trapped inside a clear cylinder with his littermate. The spicy feral kitten with grey-blue eyes meant business, doing his best to get out of the “trap”, not knowing it was for his own good.
This kitten, “Montana le Kitteh,” was inside a warm incubator, safe and cozy. But to him, this was an intolerable insult. Although he sounded like a door hinge, he did his best to tell management their days were over once he figured out how to get outta there!
Montana and his sibling inside the cozy incubator. Images via YouTube/For the Love of Kitten Rescue
Montana’s strangely “crispy” voice, as one person put it (see video below), may have been due to a number of things as he was dealing with serious tummy troubles. He and his siblings were found on a porch, dehydrated, emaciated, and covered in fleas and fly eggs. The kittens’ body temperatures were too low for a reading. So yes, it was best they stayed inside that warm incubator, or “timeout toaster,” with fluids for a while longer.
“Montana was about as fed up as any tiny little rageful kitten could be,” explained Mary, founder of South Carolina’s Miss Dixie’s Kitten Rescue.
Montana the kitten. Images via YouTube/For the Love of Kitten Rescue
She captured the funny moments on video. Although this spicy boy was trying to act tough, the threat had the opposite effect, and it was hilariously adorable. To rescuers, a kitten’s attempts to look big and scawy are a cause for laughter; ridiculous, and so lovable! Laughter is the best medicine for fosterers contending with plenty of challenges. And seeing Montana recovering enough to fight was also a welcome sign he would make it.
“But what does rhyme with door hinge?” joked Mary. You’ll have to watch the video below for the funny answer to that question.
Video by For the Love of Kitten Rescue;
Hannah, Montana, and Miley Cyrus
In an update, it’s wonderful to see that Montana and his sister Hannah have recovered. However their brother sadly passed away despite every effort. But thanks to Mary, the remaining two got a chance for a long, happy life, starting with a warm flea bath and then a larger “luxury playpen.” Yet Hannah wasn’t so impressed.
Hannah on the left and Montana on the right free at last from the timeout toaster.
Even better, they got their wish to escape the timeout toaster after all! During one of the worst kitten seasons Mary had ever seen, she also introduced Miley Cyrus, a white kitten who was also a fighter who came in like a wrecking ball.
Miley Cyrus doesn’t like the incubator either.
It was no surprise when Miley didn’t like the timeout toaster one bit, either. Alas, she would just have to endure the cozy warmth a little while longer. Staying warm is critical for kittens when they no longer have their mama cat to cuddle with. But an incubator isn’t their mama and they don’t understand. One option for young ones that is introducing a warm stuffed animal cat with a heartbeat.But when these guys arrived, they were not healthy enough to be bathed yet, and needed a very clean, sterile area as they recovered.
You can follow Miss Dixie’s Kitten Rescue on Facebook and Instagram, and Mary on YouTube and Instagram.
Video by For the Love of Kitten Rescue:
The Taming of the Spicy Floofs
Wonderfully, Hannah and Montana overcame all their health issues, and were growing fast but still quite fearful of humans. So Mary shared “one of the fundamentals of kitten fosters,” which is taming those spicy floofs.
To summarize, taming spicy floofs involves:
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Obtain a spicy floof. (volunteer at a rescue)
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Safely enclose your floof in an age-appropriate manner.
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If they are weaned, deploy treats (such as churus) and bribery, and be patient.
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Slowly present your treat-covered hand for “the sniffs.”
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Don’t be a big scary monster.
See “How to Tame Your Floofs” below from For the Love of Kitten Rescue:
