The newest addition: Meet Asher

On the morning of August 12th, 2021, I found myself with a ton of anxiety. Campy was scheduled for his teeth cleaning, which meant he would be anesthetized. As a 14-year old senior dog, we weighed all the pros and cons and decided this was the best option for Campy as it may also be the last time we could safely put him under. I was so nervous and could hardly sleep the night prior.

Around 7:15am, Campy and I left the house to drive ten minutes down the road to our vet (Poinsett Animal Hospital). After turning on to Poinsett Hwy and approaching the main campus to Furman, I noticed a small black ball of fur on the shoulder of the road near the median. I didn't think too much of it as my mind was so worried about Campy and it looked to be too small to be an animal.

After dropping Campy off, I had almost forgotten about the black ball of fur until I saw it again on the other side of the road (in the same place) as I was driving home. As I approached the light to make a left turn on to Roe Ford, something in my gut told me to go check it out. When the light showed a green arrow, I made a quick u-turn and drove in the left lane (closest to the median) until I got close to the black ball of fur.

The kitten was curled in a ball by the yellow line.

I pulled over to the side of the road and put on my flashers. Since I was somewhat blocking traffic, I quickly got out of the car and approached the ball of fur. Before I even had a moment to see what it was, I scooped it up and immediately felt it moving in my hands.

It was a kitten!

The kitten started crying and I told it everything would be ok. Once I got back into my car, another girl stopped as she must have also saw it on the side of the road. She checked to see if there were any other kittens (or a mom cat) and sadly, this kitten was all alone.

I called Karel on my way home and told him the situation. I held the kitten close to my chest to keep it warm and kept telling it that everything was ok and that it was safe. The kitten kept crying during our quick ride home.

When I pulled up in our driveway, Karel came out and he couldn't believe how tiny the kitten was in my hands. Our neighbor was outside and she came over (she used to be a vet tech) to help us out. I called the vet and asked if it was possible to bring in a kitten that I just found when it was time to pick up Campy. They said absolutely. I felt like this kitten was the perfect distraction for me as Campy got his teeth cleaned. Thankfully all went well and Campy did great during his procedure.

During the checkup, the kitten got a clean bill of health. His eyes were still developing so he couldn't see that well and his ears were still folded. Little did we know all that we needed to do to take care of this little guy.

We needed to bottle feed him formula in a bottle every few hours for the next two weeks and also simulate this genital region so he would pee and poop. Thankfully we didn't have any trips planned for the next few weeks so we were able to give this kitten the attention he needed.

While we didn't plan on getting another kitten, we fell in love with him immediately. Although Madison and Ella were not very happy with this new kitten in the house, they both quickly welcomed him into our furry family.

Surprisingly, this kitten had no health issues and really took to the bottle. It took some time for him to learn how to use the right muscles to poop but Sylvi, being such a great big bro, taught him how to use the liter box and was the first one to show him love.

We named this kitten Asher which in Hebrew means happy and blessed.

Asher was no more than two weeks old when he came into our life. It was incredible to see him grow, develop and learn over the first few weeks with us. He had the most beautiful blue eyes. He has been a lot of fun and he loves Ella and Sylvi. They both take such good care of him and they all love to play (and snuggle) together. He recently got neutered and he is such a fun, wild, playful and happy kitten.

He loves to play and he has the most adorable squeak that he makes when he gets excited. He recently learned how to jump on to tables and counters, how to drink from the faucet (Madison taught him this) and he loves kneading and sleeping in Campy's bed. Campy isn't comfortable with any of the cats (except Ella) so anytime Sylvi comes close to Campy, Campy gets up and walks away. Maybe one day Asher will win over Campy's heart. Asher does not like wet food (only dry food) and loves to talk to us in his own sweet language of crying and squeaking.