She makes cats 'sweet and cuddly'

The Daily Journal/Scott Anderson

With its eyes still closed, Melissa Meredith holds one of the five kittens she received after their mom abandoned them in a golf cart right after they were born. Meredith of Watseka has been feeding them since the second day after the birth. She is the go-to cat mom for the lroquois County Animal Rescue [I-CARe] shelter and has been hand raising abandoned kittens for 16 years. "No, I can't tell you how many kittens I've raised like this, I quit counting when I went over 100, and that was a long time ago."

Posted: Monday, September 21, 2015

Dennis Yohnka

There's no alarm clock needed here. After more than 10 years, the surrogate motherhood routine comes naturally to Melissa Meredith, of Watseka. She knows when her babies need attention.
"No, I can't tell you how many kittens I've raised like this," she said, noting that the most recent litter of five came to her at just two days old. "I quit counting when I went over 100, and that was a long time ago."

Meredith is the go-to cat mom for the lroquois County Animal Rescue [I-CARe] shelter. She doesn't mind a routine that involves eight to 10 feedings and bathings, starting at 4:30 a.m. and running through 11 p.m.

"My son is about to be 10, so I'm past the age of getting up for night feedings," the 36-year-old veterinary technician explained. "They have to go five hours or so without eating, so they're crying in the morning."

The feeding involves a special kitten formula and a syringe. They don't particularly like the taste of the formula, but hunger eventually wins out. When their little bellies are full, Meredith has to stimulate some action back there with a little massage while she's cleaning them up in the sink. And that's a little messier than a visitor might expect.

"Kittens don't poop or pee on their own, really, until they're four or five weeks old. Until then, it just happens. And it will get all over them, so the cleaning is a big deal."

Infant cats can't see or hear for their first 10 to 14 days. They're a pretty helpless group until Meredith gets them ready for adoption at about nine weeks.

"It's emotional when they leave, but I know I can't keep even one from each litter," she said. "I have four cats and a dog already. The cats we keep separate from the kittens, but the dog is hilarious. He wants to see them."

They newborns don't sleep with Meredith or the dog. They need some extra warmth and that comes from a heating pad in their carrier. They advance from syringes to a tiny bottle that allows them to practice their natural nursing instinct.

Meredith, who works for VCA of Aroma Park, feels like she has a great advantage as a caregiver: She can take her nursery to work. But she doesn't want appear too eager to take on more litters.

"I don't want to be a dumping spot for unwanted cats," she said. "What I want is for cat owners to be more responsible about spaying and neutering their pets. But when a mother abandons her kittens, I'll be there."

Meredith says she will keep up her current schedule until around Halloween.

"I name them all, but people don't have to keep those names. I just can't call them by their colors for all of their time with me," she said. "And when they leave me, I hear that they're very affectionate. Cats that bond with humans so early tend to be sweet and cuddly."

But where did this passion come from?

"I don't know. My parents liked animals, but they weren't too keen about having them in the house. I didn't have pets growing up [in East Peoria]. I didn't really have a cat of my own until I moved here 15 years ago.

"But I feel like this is a God-given thing that I have, and it's just something I need to do."

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