Grandpa Finds Kittens in His Barn – Then the Vet Looks Up at the Hayloft and Turns Pale

They backed all the way out into the daylight, and Walt pulled the big barn door halfway shut. Only then did he realize he'd been holding his breath.

"That was wire," he said. "A snare," the vet said grimly. "A cable snare, the kind poachers set along creeks. She must have chewed through the anchor and run, but the loop is still around her leg, and every time she moves it pulls a little tighter." Lily tugged her grandfather's sleeve. "Does it hurt her?" Nobody answered her, which was an answer.

"That's why the kittens were alone in the hay," Dr. Okafor said. "She can't hunt on three legs. She brought them into the warmest place she could find, and she's been lying up there guarding them, starving." He looked at the sky. It was the flat, heavy grey that meant snow. "If that wire stays on her," he said quietly, "she won't make it through the week. And neither will they."