Kitten is Ready to Leave Storm Drain Life with His Brother and Emerges from Hiding One Day

A kitten was ready to leave the storm drain life with his brother and emerged from hiding one day.

Ralphie and Red Ryder the kittensCoastal Bend Cat Rescue

Last month, a physician from Corpus Christi, Texas discovered a pair of kittens living in a storm drain behind their hospital. They had seen them without a cat mom on site, ducking in and out of the storm drain.

“One of our foster volunteers works at the hospital. She was contacted by the physician that the kittens needed help,” Mary Huckabee, a board member of Coastal Bend Cat Rescue (CBCR), shared with Love Meow.

The orange tabbies were about 10 weeks old and very wary of people. “They needed to be placed in a foster home for their safety and to have any chance at socialization. They were also so hungry. It looked like they were struggling to find food.”

They were found living in a storm drain behind a hospitalCoastal Bend Cat Rescue

The CBCR volunteer went home to grab some supplies and food in hopes of coaxing them out of hiding and into safety.

Despite how skittish the kittens were, one of them named Red Ryder slowly emerged from the storm drain as he could no longer resist the smell of food. His brother, Ralphie, was very tempted but hadn’t mustered enough courage to come out yet.

Coastal Bend Cat Rescue

“The first kitten (Red Ryder) walked right into a carrier with food inside. The second kitten was too scared for that and a humane trap was set,” Mary told Love Meow.

Within 10 minutes, the trap went off. To their surprise, a feral cat who came out of nowhere, crashed the rescue mission to sneak a meal. “There was not a little orange kitten in the trap, rather we had managed to get a very wild older cat.”

They got a feral cat during the rescueCoastal Bend Cat Rescue

While they reset the trap and waited for the final kitten, they transported Red Ryder to his foster home and placed the feral cat in their community outreach program, so she could be spayed and properly cared for.

Red Ryder was terrified by the change of environment without his brother on the first night inside a house. As soon as they got Ralphie and reunited them the next morning, Red Ryder was able to relax, clinging to his brother, making up for lost time.

They were reunited in foster care and so happy to be safeCoastal Bend Cat Rescue

“They were so happy to be back together. They loved getting food to eat, and figured out that scratchy fingers under the chin turned out to be the best thing ever.”

After 3-4 days of socialization with their foster family, the two brothers came out of their shells and became more confident around people.

They quickly realized that indoor life was pretty goodCoastal Bend Cat Rescue

“That’s when they really started to enjoy petting and started to explore their area more. Within a couple of weeks, they turned into the sweetest cuddle-bugs,” Mary added.

“Their favorite activity was lounging on the couch with their foster mom watching Netflix.”

They came out of their shells and turned into snuggle-bugsCoastal Bend Cat Rescue

“Ralphie is a happy-go-lucky dude who is very chill. Red Ryder is a little more reserved, but is happy as long as his brother is near,” Mary told Love Meow.

“They are super bonded to each other and we really hope someone will adopt them together.”

Red Ryder and Ralphie share an inseparable bondCoastal Bend Cat Rescue

The feline brothers recently graduated from foster care, and are now looking for their forever home through The Cattery Cat Shelter (in Corpus Christi, Texas), a partner rescue of Coastal Bend Cat Rescue.

With a comfortable environment, good care and plenty of food at their disposal, these scaredy kitties have transformed into affectionate attention seekers.

Coastal Bend Cat Rescue

“They also love treats—not surprising after having to scavenge for food when their mama left them! Now these boys will not have to live the tough life of a street cat, but instead, get to be pampered house cats!”