A sad day for little kittens

Sometimes the best of intentions go wrong.  Yesterday a couple turned up at the sanctuary with a cardboard box containing a mummy cat and her three babies.  They told us they’d found her in a shed.   Unfortunately the box wasn’t secure and as they took the box out of their car, the mother cat jumped out and darted off.  She was obviously frightened.   We’ve searched for her but she is nowhere to be seen.  She doesn’t know the area and the people had brought this little family from a long way off.

The kits are wanting their mum.  They are tiny and frail, about two weeks old and don’t have their eyes open.  They also have fleas but we can deal with that quite easily.  What’s more difficult is getting them to feed.   We have special emergency kitten milk formula but they don’t like the dolly-feeding bottle – I want my mommy! is all they are saying at present.

If you find cats/kittens/orphans please leave them where they are (so long as they are safe) and ring us for advice first.  Transporting frightened animals needs to be in a secure carrier.  We’ve left the box in the yard, it will smell of kittens and might lure the mother back soon.  She will be full of milk and wanting her babies.  We’ve reared lots of orphan kits over the years, sometimes they take to bottle feeding quite easily.  Others can be very resistant and we don’t have another cat with kits of the right age to take to them.   Hoping for good news soon.  We don’t want to lose these beautiful kittens.