Here is the touching story of Buttercup and Westley!

#1 Lost and Found

Last summer, two newborn kittens were found abandoned in a garbage bag thrown in a trash can.

#2 They named them Buttercup and Westley

“I picked them up that day and they have become a part of our family. They are wonderful,” said Cathy McCaughan.

#3 Teamwork

Cathy writes, “One of my mom’s co-workers heard noises coming from a kitchen trash bag and upon searching through the squeaky trash bag, found two newborn kittens inside a sealed Ziploc bag.”

“The driver reported his discovery and my mom told him to bring the kittens to the office while calling me for help with the kittens.”

#4 They were so small!

“Their wet fur made them look like just-hatched chickens. I stopped the car to check on them four times between the Oak Ridge garbage office and my West Knoxville vet. I truly believe they could have easily fallen asleep and never woken up. They were so small and weak.”

#5 The odds were against them

“The vet was far from optimistic. I took the kittens home and stared at them. I stared at them when I gave them formula with a syringe because they were too weak to nurse. I stared at them when they were sleeping.”

#6 Around-the-clock care

“At night, I would put the cat carrier with the mouse-sized kittens and the sock-lined hot water bottles on my bed. It was as close to co-sleeping as you could get.”

#7 Constant attention

“I didn’t sleep. The first three days I fed them, wiped their butts with wet cotton balls, obsessed over their body temperature, and stared at them. At night, I did something else. I cried.”

#8 They’ve turned a corner!

“The kittens moved on to bottles and started to look like kittens. Kittens that fit in the palm of your hand.”

“The stronger the kittens got, the less anxious I became. I started calling the kittens by name, like it was suddenly safe to be emotionally invested in them. It was silly. I couldn’t be more emotionally attached. I love these furballs. I love them for fighting so hard when all the odds were against them.”

“I love that my old German Shepherd lets the kittens run around for about ten minutes before he brings them back to a person, as if to say, ‘Playtime is over. It’s nap time. Yes, she means HER nap, but it’s still a wonderful thing to watch.”

“I love the way they crawl up to my face to give me kisses. I love the way my kids take care of the kittens. I love the little thuds the kittens’ paws make when we put them on the floor to exercise.”

They were so small and helpless when they first arrived in their new home, but look at them now!