When Maria Long stepped outside her home in Vallejo to grab something from her car, she expected it to be a quick trip.
Instead, she heard faint meowing.
At first, Long assumed a cat was hiding somewhere nearby.
“I thought maybe there was a cat in a tree,” she recalled. “I could hear them, but I couldn't figure out where they were.”
As she searched the area, something on the sidewalk caught her attention.
A trash bag sat baking in the afternoon sun.
Then it moved.
“It started moving, and I was like, ‘Oh, heck no. Those are the cats,’” Long said.
Without hesitating, she rushed over and tore the bag open.
Inside were four tiny kittens, crying desperately for help.
The newborns were soaked from condensation that had built up inside the sealed plastic bag, and they had been left directly on the hot sidewalk with no shade to protect them.
“It was at the end of a heat wave,” Long said. “There were no trees or anything.”
Long had no idea how long the kittens had been trapped inside, but she knew every minute mattered.
Although they were still meowing and moving, the babies looked exhausted and desperately needed medical attention.
She quickly gathered them up and drove them to Humane Society of the North Bay, located just a few minutes away.
Thankfully, shelter staff determined that while the kittens were dehydrated, frightened, and exhausted, they were expected to recover.
“They were mostly traumatized and shocked,” Long said.
Once they were stable, Long volunteered to foster the litter herself.
The kittens were only about a week old, meaning they required bottle feedings and constant care around the clock. While the schedule was demanding, Long cherished every moment.
“I never felt more like a mom than when I was fostering them,” she said.
During their week together, Long often played guitar and sang softly to the tiny kittens as they rested. Inspired by her love of music, she gave them fitting names: Doe, Ray, Mi, and Fa.
After growing stronger, the four kittens moved into long-term foster homes, where they will continue developing until they're old enough for adoption.
For Long, rescuing them was simply being in the right place at the right time.
Thanks to one curious moment on a hot sidewalk, four tiny lives that could have been lost now have the chance to grow up surrounded by safety, love, and families of their own.
If you're interested in learning more about the kitties, you can reach out to Humane Society of the North Bay.
