Floyd Felines: ‘Fire babies’ are ready to be adopted
Months after a firefighter pulled the four kittens from a crawl space, the rowdy survivors are waiting for good homes.
A little over two months ago, when Floyd Felines volunteers took in four kittens who were pulled from the crawl space of a West Rome home extensively damaged in a blaze, their chances of survival were believed to be slim.
“I would have told you a couple of these babies were going to die,” volunteer Mary Kate McCaffrey said. “They were pitiful.”
But after months of care and pampering, the four 12-week-old kittens, known as the “fire babies,” are ready for adoption, McCaffrey said.
On the afternoon of April 10, Rome-Floyd County firefighters responded to a house fire at 1 Walker Drive. The fire originated in an outbuilding in the backyard and spread to the back of the home. After quickly knocking down the flames, firefighters looked for any remaining hotspots.
It was at that time firefighter Bryce Eickleberry found the huddled kittens underneath the charred remnants of the home, crawling in and pulling them out. The kittens were drenched and had sustained smoke inhalation, McCaffrey said. Kristy LaRue, the director of Floyd Felines, then got a call from her future son-inlaw — another firefighter — who told her of the rescued kittens.
The kittens were taken to the Culbreth Carr Watson Animal Clinic and kept inside an oxygen cage. The foursome required constant care, including having to be bottle-fed every couple hours and overnight. But their condition slowly improved with each day.
While the group had the “fire babies” cared for, the next issue became finding the mother who kept returning to the damaged home where she birthed the kittens. A trap was set for the feral cat overnight and by the next morning volunteers came and picked her up.
“We called her fire momma,” McCaffrey said. “And she was not a nice cat.”
Several weeks ago, the group was able to find a barn home for the mother cat after she was sterilized. In the meantime, the “fire babies” have become the stars of the group’s Facebook page and in-house favorites for volunteers at their facility, where they currently stay. The wild bunch often are climbing the bars of their cage and bulldozing their siblings during running leaps.
“They are wild and rambunctious,” McCaffrey said.
Those interested in adopting a fire baby can message Floyd Felines and Friends on Facebook. McCaffrey said over the next few weeks the group is going to try and get the kittens fixed, then hopefully taken in by locals. But they may be transferred to another adoption agency, rescue or pet store if the kittens are still with them after that period — to make room for the demanding influx of cats.
“It’s just a miracle that they survived,” McCaffrey said.