The Slice: Cat-astrophe averted

Last week, a forklift driver at Spalding Auto Parts heard mewling coming from a wrecked car recently arrived from Montana.

So he investigated. And there, in the crumpled trunk, he found half a dozen month-old kittens.

There was no mother cat in sight. And there was no telling how long the kittens had been in the car or how they got there.

Quickly, the employees at the Spokane Valley auto salvage yard turned into an animal rescue team.

A comfy box was found and the cats were brought inside.

The Spalding folks consulted experts. Then they went out and purchased feline baby-formula and, using syringes, began feeding the furry foundlings.

“We had plenty of kitten-sitters,” said Todd Stanley, a manager.

But there being no immediate openings for the position of junkyard cat, the saved six started being adopted.

Employees took some of them. Customers snapped up others.

Customer Lisa Pederson’s 6-year-old son Garrett wanted one. And the boy’s folks said OK. But frankly, they weren’t sure how it would go at home.

You see, the Airway Heights family has an English bulldog named Gabby. And, well, Gabby is pretty set in her ways. “We’ve never had a cat,” said Pederson.

How would the old dog react to the arrival of a meowing ball of orange fur?

Well, she took a shine to the newcomer. She apparently decided the little cat needed a surrogate mother and volunteered for the job.

Monitoring the feline’s every move with you-know-what kind of tenacity, Gabby suddenly seemed younger and more alive.

“I was pretty shocked,” said Pederson.

The kitten, now named Bender (short for Fender Bender), got checked out by a vet last week. From all indications, the little adoptee is in good health. “Eating like a horse,” said one family member.

So even if you get a shaky start in life, there’s still hope if you have on your side a forklift driver with good ears and a stepmother who loves you like a bulldog.

“Oh, Canada: Is there something about women from British Columbia?

The Slice is prompted to ask after noting that Molly Parker (on HBO’s “Deadwood”) and Evangeline Lilly (ABC’s “Lost”) both started on the road to fame in the province north of here.

“Survival Tips for Baby Boomers (No. 41): Sooner or later, some snide young person is going to bring up “Billy Don’t Be A Hero,” “Kung Fu Fighting,” “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy,” “Seasons In The Sun,” “Muskrat Love,” “Convoy” or some other unfortunate songs from days gone by.

Well, here’s what you say: “Hey, man, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Those were on Top 40 radio. I was strictly into underground FM and album rock.”

“Today’s Slice question: Do you find that you can always tell whether someone moved here from an area with greater diversity or from an area with even less diversity than Spokane?