SEATTLE — Five newborn kittens found abandoned in a bag along I-90 will be available for adoption at Seattle Humane Society Thursday morning.
The kittens go by the names Butch, Patches, Coco, Millhouse, and Moolisa. They were found in a paper bag on the side of the road by a construction worker in July.
"These little lions have overcome daunting odds on their journey to being a part of your family," said Seattle Humane in a Facebook post.
When the kittens arrived at Seattle Humane's Pet Resource Center for emergency care, staff estimated the kittens were no older than five days and gave them a 50% chance of survival without their mother.
But with the care of devoted foster parents, the kittens persevered and beat the odds.
"Exhausting, anxiety-inducing and absolutely fantastic" is how foster dad Alex McCall described caring for three of the five kittens.
Seattle Humane continually shared videos of the kitten's progress while in foster care. One video showed one of the kittens playing with their foster brother, who happens to be a dog.
Seattle Humane went live on Facebook on August 13 to show the kittens receiving their initial assessments, which is their intake process. This process includes weighing, an oral deworming, flea prevention treatment, first round of vaccines, and a physical exam. They make sure everything looks right and give them a microchip to prepare them for adoption when they are about eight weeks old.
Alex has been caring for Butch, Patch, and Coco. Their siblings Moolissa and Millhouse were in a separate foster home but joined the live stream audience.
Neonatal kittens have a 50/50 chance of surviving without their mothers, but with the help of the foster homes, all five of the kittens survived and are healthy and happy.
Kittens usually practice latching on to their mother’s nipples naturally so they had to get the orphaned kittens to latch on to bottle nipples which took several tries.
“Especially when they’re itty-bitty and they still had their eyes closed, you have to feed them every two hours and that includes at night,” said Alex. “So you have to get up at two in the morning to feed the babies.”
They had to stay up for at least 30 minutes, making sure the kittens latched. Once they start latching and suckling, it was a magical sight.
When the kittens were first brought to Seattle Humane, they weighed about five ounces. After being cared for, they now weigh about a pound each.
Alex said the kittens are all super sweet and cuddly and each developing their own personalities.
Patch is the most lap kitten, meaning he likes to be cuddled with the most. Coco is the most independent. She still likes to cuddle but is quieter about it when she wants affection. According to Alex, she’ll sit there and stare at you for a little bit.
The kittens also all like to perch on shoulders.
Alex said that he wants the kittens to know that they are loved and not alone.
“I’m not a cat mom and I’m never going to be a cat mom because I’m not a cat,” said Alex. “But I’m going to do my best to make sure they’re good and they all survive.”
The kittens will be available for adoption on a first-come-first-served basis starting Thursday, Sept. 19 at 11 a.m.
The kittens can either be adopted individually for $125 or in pairs for a total of $200.