Summit House Rescue- 11/05/02

Written by Robin Patton and Matt Frain

Tuesday night was dark, cold, and damp. Halfway up the first hill on the road to the summit house, my lungs were already burning from the raw conditions. The effort became easier, however, as Matt and I began to warm up. Before we knew it, we were climbing the steps up to the porch of the summit house on Mt. Holyoke. It was at that moment that we heard it- a faint but desperate meowing coming from the vicinity of the summit. Matt pulled out his flashlight and we managed to spot him- a cold, scared, hungry kitten that had apparently been abandoned on the summit. He was solid black except for his white paws and little white tummy. At that point, the summit was being blasted by freezing winds and the dampness of an approaching storm had already began to settle in. Matt and I realized that this kitten was in for a rough night if we didn't take action. We decided to do whatever we could to get him down off the summit and out of that fierce weather. The kitten was very apprehensive around strangers and we realized we'd have to get him down on his own terms. I sat down and began scratching my fingernails on a rock to get the kitten's attention. As the kitten's curiosity increased, he began to circle me drawing closer with each lap. I was patient and within 20 minutes the kitten was nuzzling against my feet and legs. We had succeeded in gaining his trust. I knew we wouldn't be able to pick him up, he'd only run away, so Matt and I decided to see if he'd follow Matt's flashlight beam. We got up and started to walk down the road. The kitten was reluctant at first and began to protest loudly with his meows, but his curiosity over that moving beam of light on the ground got the better of him. We continued to coax him along and before we knew it, he was trotting along behind us like he belonged there. Through all of the twists and turns of the road he continued to follow. We'd gone over a mile before we realized that this kitten was going to follow us to our car. What then? We're both very allergic to cats and our apartment doesn't allow kittens. The only thing we could hope for was that this kitten would find a new home at the base of the mountain. The winds were diminished down there and there were more opportunities to find shelter, so we figured it was the best we could do for him given the circumstances. I took the flashlight and continued to lead the kitten down the dirt road across from the gate while Matt started the car and backed out. As soon as I saw the car, I flipped off the flashlight and made a run for it. The kitten stopped in his tracks to watch me, but didn't follow. As we pulled away, I could only imagine the shock this kitten was going through watching the tail lights disappear. I could only hope that his survival instincts would take over and he'd follow the lights and sounds to shelter down on the farm on the road where I left him. As we drove home, Matt told me he felt proud of himself for successfully herding a kitten for over a mile. I felt better that although we couldn't provide a home for him, at least we did what we could to improve this kitten's chance for survival.