Meet the Cats: Lenny, a feral kitten, learned everything from humans
Lenny, a gray and white tabby, will be celebrating his fifth Gotcha birthday next month.

We we join Kitty Blue’s The Cat on My Head’s Sunday Selfie Blog Hop this week, Paws for Reflection wanted to start showcasing our feline family. We realized to our chagrin that we don’t have our cats included on our About Page, and as they are the centerpiece of so much of our information, we need to change that. Today, we talk about the newest addition to the Paws family – Lenny. We invite you go hopping this Sunday, and meet some absolutely pawsome pet people.
Most kittens learn from their Mama cat
While most kittens learn from their Mama cat, Lenny didn’t know his Mama. He met her and his Dad once but they paid little attention to him. They have moved on as he had become separated from them, and he really hadn’t been a part of their cat family. If Mama cat becomes separated from her babies and a foreign human gets involved, they can choose to abandon the kittens. That’s what happened with Lenny.




Rescued from a brush pile that was about to be burned, Lenny, initially thought to be a Lilly, was the only surviving kitten of a litter of four. The three others had drowned from the spring rains. Luckily Lenny scaled his way to the top half of the brush pile and survived.
Paws had connected with a neighbor, Kimberly, who wanted help trapping his parents for TNR (Trap, Neuter and Release). We have enlisted the help of Friends of Feral Felines in Southern Maine. However, Faith – she had named the two cats who resided underneath her deck – had become pregnant. We had to wait for the kittens to be born, and then, we would try to trap the parents.
Lenny was the only surviving kitten
One day, in a panic, Kimberly contacted me about the brush pile. She was convinced that’s where the kittens were. Paws said we would ask our neighbors to hold off burning it until the kittens could be rescued. It turns out they were horrified to think they might burn a pile of brush with kittens in it.
Kimberly and her daughter went to the rescue and pulled apart the pile. They found Lenny, who didn’t even have his eyes open, crying. He was cold, hungry and scared.
A miraculous kitten
Paws just had to go see this miraculous kitten. After all, it was a miracle he’d survived. As she was bottle feeding the kitten, Paws made a point to visit weekly. He made a terrific photo shoot, and today, we share some of those photos. As we continue with our series of Meet the Cats in the Paws household, we’ll be sharing many of those photos, which also can be seen in our Grand Gallery.






He grew like a weed. She bottle fed him for a few weeks. He developed an eye infection, and she used tea bags. She taught him to use a litter box. He started eating wet kitten food. He had tons of love and affection, even though they had a resident older cat. As I kept returning every week, we decided, it was best that the kitten become a permanent member of the Paws household.
Once he was two pounds and eight-weeks-old, he could be spay/neutered. The adoption was complete. Lenny was fixed and never was subjected to the shelter. He went from Kimberly’s home to ours. He has provided endless hours of entertainment since then. He adjusted very well, and as a kitten, the other cats didn’t object to him. While Paws kept him crated in the carrier for a week while at work, when let out, he’d run and play with the other kitties. This little fella could wrestle with the best of them.
As Lenny was well-socialized, he was the cat that Paws would take into the nursing home as a therapy cat. He didn’t seem to mind.
Today, he’s a bit timid when strangers come into the house. He also had the most high-pitched voice, very unlike our other cats, who sound more catlike.
As he is rambunctious, he’s the one that sits in the screen and watches the birds from the inside. He continues to be a joy, and, with no health issues to date, we hope he can stay with the Paws family for years to come.
Leave your paw prints and comments
Do you have some favorite stories to tell about your cats, and how they came to share your life? Please weigh in on this discussion and share your stories with Paws’ for Reflection readers. Also be sure to go hopping and visit all these pawsome blogs participating in today’s Sunday Selfie Blog Hop kindly hosted by The Cat on My Head.
Happy 5th Gotcha Day, Lenny. You are a very special kitty, having a very special family too 🙂 Extra five Happy Pawkisses for the occasion 🙂 <3
We thanks you for the extra five pawkissses. You have a pawsome week!
Lenny is totally gorgeous – and how lucky he was to find you (or is it you to find him???)
I think they find us, and it kind of curious just how he found me.
What a wonderful story! You made my eyes a little leaky. I’m glad Lenny has such a wonderful home, and he reminds me of my Fergus. He was abandoned by his mother for an unknown time, and he was bottle fed by me last year. I can’t imagine my life without him now, and I’m hoping to help another bottle baby litter this year, if they need my help. Such rewarding work.
Jean from Welcome to the Menagerie
Lucky Fergus, and perhaps a very lucky future kitty. Share photos.
What a beautiful story! Lenny is so cute 🙂
Purrs xx
Athena and Marie
He’s pretty special, and I’m sure glad he came into my life.
I love happy endings. I am glad Lenny got his.
All my cats are rescues, and they’ve all found a happy, safe home.
What a story!!! Lenny could not be any cuter, then and now. How heartbreaking what happened to his siblings though 🙁
It’s very sad about his siblings, but so happy he made it to a very happy, safe home. And I can’t thank Kimberly enough for all she did to help him survive.
What a story Lenny has! We are so glad he found his happy home with you. He certainly went from an adorable little lost kitten to a handsome young cat!
He is a handsome boy, and I’m so glad I could help him go from rags to riches.
Happy 5th Gotcha Day, Lenny! He has quite a rescue story. Goodness, it’s sad but I’m glad Lenny had a happy ending. His kitten pictures are just adorable.
His photos tell the story why I just had to visit every week to take photos. He was a handsome little boy!
Lenny looks like an adorable cat who has graced your home and returned the love given him twofold. Our Einstein was brought to Dad in a coma at maybe 3-4 weeks and Dad bottle fed him. Luckily our Rumpy took him under paw and taught him how to be a fine young cat. A bit bad too MOL
Lucky Einstein. Sounds like he’s learned a lot from Rumpy.
What a great rescue story! It sounds like Lenny was raised well, even if humans had to do it.
Lenny probably taught me, rather than the other way around. We humans could learn tons from the wisdom of a cat.
What a lovely story, and such adorable pictures of little Lenny. Happy 5th Gotcha Day, Lenny!
We took a trip down memory lane as some of these were taken a few years ago. With all these comments, I think Lenny may be asking for a Gotcha party.
What a wonderful story and happy ending for Lenny. Happy Gotcha Day, Lenny. Hope it is filled with warm cuddles, love and treats, of course. Our Astrid and brother Bobby were abandoned by their mom at birth and raised by humans as well. Astrid likes humans just fine and some of the rest of the bunch as well. Thanks for sharing this with everyone on the hop XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo and Cooper Murphy
Isn’t it amazing how a baby feral kitten can learn to be cat from a human. Amazing, and I’m so glad Astrid and brother Bobby learned from their human teachers, as well. Thanks for hosting the Selfie Sunday Blog Hop. It’s really the best!
Aww, that is quite a tale he has, and no mistake. The lad did well to survive and nature and fate brought him to your door and to a life with a lovely family. Thank you for sharing him this Sunday.
Purrs, Erin
I do think it was a bit of fate that brought Lenny to the Paws’ household. Have a great Sunday!