Woman rescues, heals cats hurt in Elgin fire

Thanks to a pair of Good Samaritans and a bit of luck, the four stray kittens burned in an Elgin garage fire in March have a new lease on life and should be ready for adoption this month.

All four kittens have completely healed from their burns, said Jane Redmann, who took them in as foster kittens after their initial treatment.

She named them Hope, Faith, Chance and Will.

"It kind of took a combination of their names to make them live," said Redmann, a North Barrington resident.

On March 26, the smell of burning wood permeated Fulton Street at Chapel Street as a fire destroyed a garage built in the early 1900s.

The garage and its yard are popular draws for neighborhood feral cats because David Key, the man who lives in the nearby house, feeds and has provided shelter to them for 15 years.

But on this day, the four kittens were caught inside a plastic igloo in front of the garage. They managed to escape, though melting plastic singed their bodies.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, said Lt. Doug Wahl, who oversees the Elgin Fire Department fire investigation team.

Key rushed the kittens to the Animal House Shelter in Huntley for treatment. Their mother was nowhere to be found, he said.

Hope, Will, Faith and Chance arrived in Huntley with multiple burns, said Kaylie Carroll, the shelter's development manager.

For example, there were burns on their whiskers, ears, legs and paw pads from the melting plastic, she said.

A volunteer veterinarian treated Hope, Will, Faith and Chance, who at that time were between three and four weeks old, Carroll said.

They are all from the same litter, she said.

"They were very frightened. I don't think that they had ever seen people before, and they were hungry -- and I don't believe the mother has ever been seen again," Carroll said.

It was Redmann who served as the kittens' surrogate mother, moving them in with her existing group of 33 cats and kittens.

"It makes for an interesting house," she quipped. "There was no way we were going to turn them away."

Besides buying special kitty litter for their sore feet, Redmann took over many of the other roles of a mother cat, as well as a couple of extra ones: she fed them milk, as they'd been nursing when the fire occurred; bathed them; treated their wounds; hummed to them to mimic the sounds of their mother; and socialized them with people and other animals.

A vet also came by weekly to monitor their progress, she said.

Thanks to her work, the kittens love people and are very social, she said.

They are scheduled to make their public debut at a puppy and kitten shower from 1 to 4 p.m. May 17 at the Huntley Town Square.

The Animal House, which spends roughly $300,000 a year in medical costs for its animals, has organized the event that also includes a $25 microchipping clinic, a bake sale and free facials, Carroll said.

Hope, Chance, Will and Faith also will be up for adoption at the shower.

"They're super-sweet," Carroll said.

If you go

What: A puppy and kitten shower; proceeds will benefit the Animal House Shelter in Huntley. There will be a $25 microchipping clinic, bake sale, facials and lots of kittens and puppies up for adoption.

When: 1 to 4 p.m. May 17

Where: Town Square at the American Legion, 11712 Coral St., Huntley

Cost: Free

Info: (847) 961-5541 or www.animalhouseshelter. com