Help rescue Jim the kitten

A massive storm hit on February 1 and when the rain began coming down, a tiny kitten appeared out of nowhere and took shelter in a cupboard outside my cabin. This was the first photo I took at the moment I realized there was something small and furry in the cupboard:

I worked in the storm to quickly reconfigure the cupboard to be a warm, dry shelter and put out some food and water. I have two cats so was lucky to have some cat supplies on hand.

Over the next few days of maintaining the shelter through the storm and feeding the little tyke, the kitten decided to take up residence under my cabin. The kitten is terrified of people but is gradually getting warmer and braver; it helps that my two cats act very friendly toward the kitten and Max cat seems to want to play with it. I notice that at night the kitten "patrols" around the cabin, often watching the cats and I.

As it has been a week it looks like the kitten could be here to stay. I can't take on another full-time cat but there is a barn across from my cabin that can have a shelter added to make the kitten a barn cat. The kitten seems to have "chosen" me as its safe human to interact with on the farm and my hope is to get it healthy, socialized, and keep it safe. After that I hope to hand its care and expenses over to the people who own the farm.

I think the kitten also came to my cabin for shelter because it saw my cats, seeing this is a safe cat zone. I don't know where the kitten came from and there are no other kittens around; my cabin is next to a nature preserve and since the kitten is not completely terrified of people, I'm pretty sure someone dumped the kitten at the edge of the preserve and then it wandered here. I don't know the kitten's gender and haven't gotten close enough to ask about pronouns, and that's all fine anyway, so I've named this little Kiwi kitten Jim after one of my favorite characters in Our Flag Means Death. (I am currently in Aotearoa as a Visiting Scholar to write a book.)

Here is a range of expenses I tracked down:

Vet consultation: $50-$80

Vaccination: $40-110

Spay/Neuter: $120-$400

Microchipping: $35-70 + Registration: $35-50

Food: $90 + Flea/parasite meds: $65-115

Total: $485-$915

I set the goal of this page at the high end because I'm a cat guardian and I know that things always cost more than you expect, and also because I'd like to get the kitten toys, a better bed and proper shelter, treats, and basics like a collar and carrier, etc -- which is what any overflow from this fundraiser would go toward if that happens.

Thank you for reading this far and for considering helping me rescue Jim! As I was writing this, Jim carefully walked up to the glass door and spotted -- I think for the first time -- my cats' food bowls. The look on that little face seeing what must look like massive bowls of food...