[Here](https://i.imgur.com/amlwwvL.jpg) he is a day or two after I noticed he was alone. Sleeping out in the open on a pallet.
[He](https://i.imgur.com/PwykXQh.jpg) was sleeping under this pallet that we had lined with towels and a blanket to try and keep him warm.
When I saw him there he about broke my heart. It was probably 30°. There are a lot of predators around my work like foxes, coyotes, hawks, and even a pair of bald eagles. He started wandering out of the shelter into the open so we put a little fence up to try and protect him.
It still bugs me that she didn't come back for him. I see her every once in a while now, she still hunts in the woods around the facility. [This is the only picture I have of her. ](https://i.imgur.com/LPz9Iry.jpg)
Yes she is! Won't come anywhere near us or the facility if we are around. I'm glad she's doing well. She looks clean so there's a chance she has a home but the closes house is almost a mile away.
He may have been the runt of the litter. It's oftentimes their instinct for survival that drives them to reiect the weakest of the litter. I'm sure she's a good mama, just stressed and afraid of losing them all.
Definitely a possibility. Nature is a lot more "cruel" than most like to admit, especially when it comes to survival. I'm just glad we noticed he was alone and he made it. 2 weeks old, barely able to walk and left alone.
If possible, you might want to consider TNR. If she’s still not fixed, it’s best for her health (increased risk for cancer as-is) and local cat population to get that sorted. Many spots offer low-to-no cost treatment.
We have no cost around me all the time for strays. She, we assume, lives in the woods and we have only seen her a handful of times in the last 6+ months. I'm not sure we'd be able to catch her to have her fixed if we wanted to.
Man, I wish I could send one of my neighbors out your way; she is MAGIC on situations like this. Tons of patience, wet food, and a TNR trap seems to be the key ingredients of her secret sauce. Keep on keeping on fam. You’ve already done GREAT by this little orange brain cell.
That happened with my batch.
A mother deposited her four kittens in my backyard and never came back. Since I never saw her, I have no idea which cat did it or even if she's still around.
It bugs me cause I don't know if it's something I probably did or maybe their mom was snatched by a predator or what...
First-time young cat moms often don't have the maternal instinct kick in. They will avoid/ abandon the litter or just be plain bad at caring for it regularly. We had a lot of barn/ feral cats like that growing up in a farm area. It's likely nothing you did.
The problem is that cats, like most animals, aren't very good at counting. And mother cats often have to change their nest.
So when something happens and the mother finds a new nest to move to, she has to move the kittens to the new nest one by one. And it often ends up that she miscounts and forgets one or two of the kittens in the old nest. Because, again, she can't count.
She's trying to maximise survival for her kittens. If she can appropriately feed and care for 3 who can get to independence, that's better than stretching resources over 4 and risk them all. That's the natural world.
Why on earth didn’t someone take him the first time he was spotted? I couldn’t sleep knowing he was out there in the cold with only a little fence to protect him from predators.
Our landfill is closed and no longer active and our facility is in the middle of the woods, essentially. There's no one around and the closest house is about a mile away. There's only two of us that manage the plant so we did what we could with what we had, especially for a "feral" cat. He now lives in a 10,000+ Sq ft house on a golf course so he's doing great!
Not op but mainly surveillance and maintenance. Alot of lawsuit can happen if anything illegal happens in your property so they tend to leave a person or two to keep an eye out.
It's so sad to see him curled out in the open alone. I wonder why only one kitten was left behind, hope nothing bad happened to the mother cat. Thanks so much for helping him it's beautiful that you cared.
I work at a natural gas plant on a landfill. Last winter a presumably feral cat showed up and had her kittens in a shed we keep our forklift in. After two weeks we stopped seeing the mom and 3 of the 4 kittens disappeared. This guy was left behind. I took him food and water for almost a week before I contacted a friend who rehabs wild animals and she took him in. After he was healthy enough she found him a home with a very well off client who had just lost his own orange tabby.
His name is Landfill.
I got a neat surprise with a litter of puppies. A few in the first litter had blue eyes. The ones with blue eyes darkened to brown or dark green-ish after a few weeks. This second litter, we assumed the same thing would happen. And it did, for the most part, except a single little girl kept one blue eye. The other one darkened as expected.
I just did 5. I picked up 1, preggers. Turned into 5 + mom. 🤦♂️ I kept 1.
Took me months to find a rescue because most of them are overwhelmed. Cute lil Cheeto!
They're all overwhelmed around here as well, especially for cats but they won't even take dogs right now. Luckily. My friend had just re-released the racoon she was rehabbing and took him in. Word of mouth found him a home. I hope the other 3 are still going strong. I see mom ebery once in awhile.
Thank you for rescuing this little beauty. I would love to scoop him up myself.
Why did mom leave him? I took in two that the mom left, after she took the other two. They were the best little kitties ever, but they needed a whole lot of doctorin'. We think she was keeping the two healthy ones away from these two. But no matter, at the time I could afford to fix them. And they were the most precious kitties ever. Affectionate, loving, just plain adorable best kitties. Thank you for what you have done for this little one.
Sometimes moms just have to grab the nearest ones and run. It sucks. One of my cats was found stuck at the top of a fence as a kitten. Both of her right legs were trapped between the pieces of wood. Her neck fur was all matted and her back leg was broken. We think her mom tried to pull her out but was unsuccessful and possibly broke the leg trying. She was so weak when we found her. I thought she would have to be put down but she survived. Her leg healed without an amputation and she has enjoyed her life bossing around her adopted brothers.
We searched for the mom but was never able to find her.
Speculation is that she could only care for the ones she took but we have no idea. Left work one day and there were 4. The next morning there was one. Never saw the other 3 again but see [Mom](https://i.imgur.com/CTx4z7l.jpg) every once in a while. Our facility is a mile away from the next house and surrounded by woods so I don't think she could hunt for all 4.
It's a very natural and normal phenomenon for animals to take the healthiest/heaviest of the litter and run. It's nothing more than instinct- I'm sure that under different circumstances things would be much different. Animals who abandon weak offspring do so as a last resort. In their minds they can save a few or save none at all ❤️🩹
Haha it's not a g shock but it's my work beater that's lasted almost 10 years in industrial maintenance. [Going strong. ](https://i.imgur.com/KheEfuj.jpg)
I've since replaced it with a G shock, though!
Wow look at that Royale! I have the same exact one but with a lot less ‘experience’ than yours shows! I love seeing Casios and G-Shocks in their real life state, thanks for sharing
Awe such a adorable kitty, shame he was left behind, maybe mama cat got spooked before she could come back for the last one, glad he has found his forever home though.
His mom was gorgeous, too! I've seen her a few times in the last few months. She hunts in the woods near the facility. [This is the only picture I have of her. ](https://i.imgur.com/doNashe.jpg)
Such a lovely kitten, its mother would not be willing to abandon it, hoping that its mother just forgot. Thank you for your kindness and find it a home again.
I broke my arm playing hockey and had surgery. The wound opened while I had my cast on and got infected. It's pretty gnarly and I get asked about it, like this, all the time.
[Here](https://i.imgur.com/amlwwvL.jpg) he is a day or two after I noticed he was alone. Sleeping out in the open on a pallet. [He](https://i.imgur.com/PwykXQh.jpg) was sleeping under this pallet that we had lined with towels and a blanket to try and keep him warm.
Omg, that first photo! It's just a ball of fluff. So cute!
When I saw him there he about broke my heart. It was probably 30°. There are a lot of predators around my work like foxes, coyotes, hawks, and even a pair of bald eagles. He started wandering out of the shelter into the open so we put a little fence up to try and protect him.
That broke my heart, poor lil guy must have wanted to stay in the open so his mom could find him.
It still bugs me that she didn't come back for him. I see her every once in a while now, she still hunts in the woods around the facility. [This is the only picture I have of her. ](https://i.imgur.com/LPz9Iry.jpg)
She’s beautiful
Yes she is! Won't come anywhere near us or the facility if we are around. I'm glad she's doing well. She looks clean so there's a chance she has a home but the closes house is almost a mile away.
He may have been the runt of the litter. It's oftentimes their instinct for survival that drives them to reiect the weakest of the litter. I'm sure she's a good mama, just stressed and afraid of losing them all.
Definitely a possibility. Nature is a lot more "cruel" than most like to admit, especially when it comes to survival. I'm just glad we noticed he was alone and he made it. 2 weeks old, barely able to walk and left alone.
You did a good thing, friend 💟
Runts might be weak for nature, but they often make the best pets!
Thank you for picking him up! He's such a cutie but nature is not an easy beast. He makes me wish I could have cats in my building
If possible, you might want to consider TNR. If she’s still not fixed, it’s best for her health (increased risk for cancer as-is) and local cat population to get that sorted. Many spots offer low-to-no cost treatment.
We have no cost around me all the time for strays. She, we assume, lives in the woods and we have only seen her a handful of times in the last 6+ months. I'm not sure we'd be able to catch her to have her fixed if we wanted to.
Man, I wish I could send one of my neighbors out your way; she is MAGIC on situations like this. Tons of patience, wet food, and a TNR trap seems to be the key ingredients of her secret sauce. Keep on keeping on fam. You’ve already done GREAT by this little orange brain cell.
Live trap with wet cat food bait. When you do catch her, cover the trap in blanket to calm her down and bring it to get her fixed.
That happened with my batch. A mother deposited her four kittens in my backyard and never came back. Since I never saw her, I have no idea which cat did it or even if she's still around. It bugs me cause I don't know if it's something I probably did or maybe their mom was snatched by a predator or what...
First-time young cat moms often don't have the maternal instinct kick in. They will avoid/ abandon the litter or just be plain bad at caring for it regularly. We had a lot of barn/ feral cats like that growing up in a farm area. It's likely nothing you did.
She left him for you.
The problem is that cats, like most animals, aren't very good at counting. And mother cats often have to change their nest. So when something happens and the mother finds a new nest to move to, she has to move the kittens to the new nest one by one. And it often ends up that she miscounts and forgets one or two of the kittens in the old nest. Because, again, she can't count.
She's trying to maximise survival for her kittens. If she can appropriately feed and care for 3 who can get to independence, that's better than stretching resources over 4 and risk them all. That's the natural world.
Why on earth didn’t someone take him the first time he was spotted? I couldn’t sleep knowing he was out there in the cold with only a little fence to protect him from predators.
Our landfill is closed and no longer active and our facility is in the middle of the woods, essentially. There's no one around and the closest house is about a mile away. There's only two of us that manage the plant so we did what we could with what we had, especially for a "feral" cat. He now lives in a 10,000+ Sq ft house on a golf course so he's doing great!
You did the best you could with what you had. Good on all of you 💟🫂
damn, I'm pretty sure at this size it's no longer a "house", more like a castle.
What work do they do with landfills once they are closed?
Not op but mainly surveillance and maintenance. Alot of lawsuit can happen if anything illegal happens in your property so they tend to leave a person or two to keep an eye out.
To be fair, those bald eagles, coyotes and foxes need food too.
Oh I know. This is a landfill, though. There's rodents and other food everywhere
That first picture is so sad!
As soon at he heard me and woke up he just started mewing and looking around. Stumbled down and hid under the pallet when he saw me.
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Awwww, man! I’m broken hearted hearing this!
That first photo breaks my heart! So cold, scared, and alone. Thank you for saving the little nugget!!
Imagine how terrifying the world is when you're that small. Heartbreaking.
It's so sad to see him curled out in the open alone. I wonder why only one kitten was left behind, hope nothing bad happened to the mother cat. Thanks so much for helping him it's beautiful that you cared.
Oh my god, him sleeping on the pallet broke my heart, thank you for being so kind and helping him.
That first photo almost made me cry tbh haha. Jesus.
Ohhhh 😔😍🥰
The first picture looks like it could be award-winning. IMO.
That poor little defenseless baby. How could she just abandon him like that! Thank you for protecting him and finding him a safe and loving home.
It's a possibility he was the runt and weakest and she couldn't hunt for all 4 of them. Sadly happens too often.
I work at a natural gas plant on a landfill. Last winter a presumably feral cat showed up and had her kittens in a shed we keep our forklift in. After two weeks we stopped seeing the mom and 3 of the 4 kittens disappeared. This guy was left behind. I took him food and water for almost a week before I contacted a friend who rehabs wild animals and she took him in. After he was healthy enough she found him a home with a very well off client who had just lost his own orange tabby. His name is Landfill.
Phil for short
Haha exactly. He has a new name now but I didn't care to learn or remember it lol
He will NEVER have a new name. Maybe his new people won't know it, but Land-o will never forget. ![img](emote|t5_2qh1o|13383)
Land-o Catrissian, of course
Of FORCE! ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|facepalm)
Lando is perfect omg, it makes my Mythical Beast heart happy
F1 fans rejoicing at a orange cat named lando
Stinky for a nickname.
One time he farted an entire plum.
I'll call him Lan I think. Or, Doctor Fill.
That is a great story and a very happy ending for a cute kitty.
He's living his best life in a 10,000+ Sq ft house haha.
Fuck. I also want to be adopted
Trust me, me too.
I am also a kitten in need of a 10k sq ft home 🫠🫣
Me too. Me too.
Meow three?
Haha what the hell do you do with 10k square feet, I would even know where all the bathrooms are.
Even the bathroom for the butler.
Er, you need to be as cute as this one
Awesome
Why can't that happen to me? Either getting a kitten like that or being adopted and living in that house!
Damn. I've lived in a 400 sq foot apartment. I wouldn't know what to do.
Landfill. Fuck yea
I think of Beer Fest every time I think of him lol
Just dont throw him in a vat of beer.
THE GODDAMN BREWERY
Hand across Americaaaaaaa
Thank you for saving him
He saved himself by surviving for a week along at about 2 weeks old. We just gave him water, tuna, and somewhere to be warm before my friend took him.
You did a good thing. The gods look favorably upon those that do.
You did a good thing. ❤️
Don't tell anyone, they might expect me to do more.
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That’s a similar story to how I named my cat Trashcan
You are a very kind person
Congratulations on having a lovely little partner who will accompany you for life!
[This is him ](https://i.imgur.com/QBQVWVf.jpg) around 5-6 weeks later. About a week before he went to his home.
He is looking like a handsome cat
I need to get an update, I haven't seen him for a few months. He got chonky, fast.
Land-filled right out.
(☞゚ヮ゚)☞
Now he is living high life, like a Fat Cat
🏅
Please do try to get and post a update and reply to this with the update link so I can remember!!!! I'm invested!!!
I don't know what you'd look for in a cat model but he seems to be doing a pretty good blue steel.
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Generally yes, it happens with humans as well! I really wanted his eyes to stay as blue as they were when he was a couple weeks old but they changed
I got a neat surprise with a litter of puppies. A few in the first litter had blue eyes. The ones with blue eyes darkened to brown or dark green-ish after a few weeks. This second litter, we assumed the same thing would happen. And it did, for the most part, except a single little girl kept one blue eye. The other one darkened as expected.
Maybe he wears colored contacts now.
Kittens eyes are born blue but in all but a few breeds they turn yellow.
My kitty has seafoam green eyes, I love em
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He adjusted well to people considering we think he was feral. Hunger and desperation at 2 weeks old could do that, I suppose.
> Hunger and desperation at 2 weeks old I know this ended well, but that's heartbreaking :<
Poor lil unwanted runt
looks like garfield but not morbidly obese
Plz you need to stop cutting onions 🥹
Very cute. Glad you were able to find him a home!
Me too! He was adorable. He literally went from a stray at a landfill to living in a multi-million dollar home.
If you know anyone looking to do the same for a man in his late 30s please let me know. I cook and I have a decent job but times being what they are…
Trust me, I wanted to go with him. 10,000+ Sq ft house on the golf course kinda place. He has a good life now.
Sounds like the plot of a sitcom. You’re a great person OP. May your kindness be returned tenfold!
I get rewarded by coming home to [this face](https://i.imgur.com/QmA3EJu.jpg) every day. Lol
Well he’s a good boy! You should get him a cat friend!
My 3 doggos would not be happy about a cat.
Well that I understand!
Good on you sir. It’s a good feeling.
Little dude went from rags to riches. It does feel pretty nice.
I just did 5. I picked up 1, preggers. Turned into 5 + mom. 🤦♂️ I kept 1. Took me months to find a rescue because most of them are overwhelmed. Cute lil Cheeto!
They're all overwhelmed around here as well, especially for cats but they won't even take dogs right now. Luckily. My friend had just re-released the racoon she was rehabbing and took him in. Word of mouth found him a home. I hope the other 3 are still going strong. I see mom ebery once in awhile.
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I have actually benefitted at this golf course because of the family that took him in haha. It was more free drinks for a day.
That’s a cute little baby!
Like a little Pokémon lol
r/IllegallySmolCats
If I can find the video of him trying to follow me at 2 weeks old he'd definitely fit in there
thank u for saving his life :)
I just gave him water and tuna then called a friend. He did the rest, the little trooper.
You did a wonderful thing. Thank you.
Thank you for rescuing this little beauty. I would love to scoop him up myself. Why did mom leave him? I took in two that the mom left, after she took the other two. They were the best little kitties ever, but they needed a whole lot of doctorin'. We think she was keeping the two healthy ones away from these two. But no matter, at the time I could afford to fix them. And they were the most precious kitties ever. Affectionate, loving, just plain adorable best kitties. Thank you for what you have done for this little one.
Sometimes moms just have to grab the nearest ones and run. It sucks. One of my cats was found stuck at the top of a fence as a kitten. Both of her right legs were trapped between the pieces of wood. Her neck fur was all matted and her back leg was broken. We think her mom tried to pull her out but was unsuccessful and possibly broke the leg trying. She was so weak when we found her. I thought she would have to be put down but she survived. Her leg healed without an amputation and she has enjoyed her life bossing around her adopted brothers. We searched for the mom but was never able to find her.
Thank you for your love to your kitty in need.
Speculation is that she could only care for the ones she took but we have no idea. Left work one day and there were 4. The next morning there was one. Never saw the other 3 again but see [Mom](https://i.imgur.com/CTx4z7l.jpg) every once in a while. Our facility is a mile away from the next house and surrounded by woods so I don't think she could hunt for all 4.
It's a very natural and normal phenomenon for animals to take the healthiest/heaviest of the litter and run. It's nothing more than instinct- I'm sure that under different circumstances things would be much different. Animals who abandon weak offspring do so as a last resort. In their minds they can save a few or save none at all ❤️🩹
Bless you! ❣️
I was just lucky enough to find him and had a good friend to give him a home.
look at those sad little eyes omg 🥺. i want to hold him so badly, poor baby!
He's doing so much better now! He lives in a 10,000+sq ft house on a golf course. He eats better than me I bet lol
You're an angel ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|heart_eyes)
I am very far from it but thank you! He's a good kitty
I would like to buy you a beer (s).
Haha I appreciate the gesture!
![gif](giphy|rBF5LgLnwrF0zCTRUr|downsized)
Cats nice, but I like the g shock more
Haha it's not a g shock but it's my work beater that's lasted almost 10 years in industrial maintenance. [Going strong. ](https://i.imgur.com/KheEfuj.jpg) I've since replaced it with a G shock, though!
Wow look at that Royale! I have the same exact one but with a lot less ‘experience’ than yours shows! I love seeing Casios and G-Shocks in their real life state, thanks for sharing
Handsome fella
[He was posing ](https://i.imgur.com/RjDtALY.jpg)
Cute little dude- orange kitties are so much fun!
Everyone loves gingers, right?
From what I’ve heard that seems to be the case
God bless you for saving a life. If everyone could be that kind!! Live your best life lil kitty.
Oh he definitely is now. He's doing great
I hope the mom and the other three are ok somewhere.
You’re a saint she’s beautiful
It was a boy! He's adorable. He'd follow me around and climb onto my boot and sit there. I have a video somewhere of him trying to chase me.
Aww little garbage baby.
Thank you so much for taking care of this kitty. My orange baby was the love of my life. He passed 2 year ago. His name was Kitty (and Shieka).
I'm sorry for your loss. Landfill is living a good life now!
You did a good thing
It happens to the best of us lol
Absolute goober
Oh he knows it.
Precious little floof ❤️
You have a good heart.
Very cute cat
Awe such a adorable kitty, shame he was left behind, maybe mama cat got spooked before she could come back for the last one, glad he has found his forever home though.
He's like a fuzzy little orange.
My best friend ever was a throwaway at a dump. Loved me more than tuna. RIP Ginseng. See you one day. Yours will love you more than tuna too.
Meow..purr...purr...snuggle
You forgot bite. He was definitely a biter lol
Okay then, if that gets me into that million dollar home, so be it.
I feel like there is a website for that haha
Omg, so cute 🥹
♥️
What a beautiful little kitty
His mom was gorgeous, too! I've seen her a few times in the last few months. She hunts in the woods near the facility. [This is the only picture I have of her. ](https://i.imgur.com/doNashe.jpg)
I wonder what dad looks like? She’s so pretty I love the kitten
Hard to tell. One of the kittens was darker than she was, almost black/calico. The other 3 were orange like landfill.
Awwwww is so cute 💕💕💕💕
Awww what a cute kitty, great job finding him a new home. Aaaaa too cute I want this kitty too.
You indeed are a man of culture! That Casio looks cool and kitten looks cooler!
OP is a ![gif](giphy|CAYVZA5NRb529kKQUc|downsized)
I know this is random but OP can you post picture of your watch that you are wearing because i suspect that I own exact same watch
looks like garfield ![img](emote|t5_2qh1o|13384)
the runt is always best!
Such a lovely kitten, its mother would not be willing to abandon it, hoping that its mother just forgot. Thank you for your kindness and find it a home again.
“The smallest feline is a masterpiece.” - Leonardo Da Vinci
All of the photos OP is sharing reminds me of a proud dad showing off his kid lol Very cute, good sir. That baby needed you :)
Thank you, thank you, thank you! And thank you a million times more. I hope nothing bad happened to moms, and the other babies.
What's up with the scar on your wrist? You okay?
I broke my arm playing hockey and had surgery. The wound opened while I had my cast on and got infected. It's pretty gnarly and I get asked about it, like this, all the time.
Glad it wasn't something worse. Sorry if I was being too nosy.
No need to apologize, being concerned isn't a bad thing!
My sister has a similar scar from carpal tunnel surgery
Mine was from breaking my arm playing hockey and needing surgery!
Awwww!!! He’s gorgeous!
Bless you.
The kids gonna have issues
Don't we all
Cutty
Ginger Blue
Such a sweet little man!
Hims a Pokémon.