Cat Rescue and Adoption - Sheffield

Happy New Year to you all! I can’t believe that we are into our fourth year already, although I don’t mind admitting that there were times that I didn’t think there would be a fourth year as the money was going out faster than it was coming in, due to 10 very hungry little mouths to feed! But Linda was right - I had no need to worry and, as per usual, you have all saved the day and we are ready for the New Year ahead.

Christmas was anything but quiet with the kittens racing around like little demons. This year a Christmas tree was definitely off the agenda as the chances of it remaining in an upright position were a big fat zero!

August saw the arrival of Missy - who is feral - and her three, two week old kittens. Missy had her own ideas about captivity and made a dash for freedom on day 2. Fortunately she stayed close to home and was returning to the pen for food, but I could not risk leaving the tiny kittens there in case she didn’t return, or worse, took them elsewhere, and then they too would then grow up as ferals. Tippy, Misty and Libby have grown into lovely little kittens, and thanks to two members of the RSPCA we finally managed to capture Missy. As yet she has not been spayed and I am still trying to work with her to bring her around. Progress is slow, but then that is to be expected. The beginning of September saw the arrival of Cheeky. This one comes with a health warning - ‘Watch Your Back!!’. Spiderman has nothing on this cat’s antics! At the beginning of October I got the familiar call from my friends at the RSPCA - I know you are full but ... 5 kittens and their mum had been thrown from a car. The carrier burst open and Mum made her getaway. The little ones were rounded up by two young girls who took them home. When they arrived here you have never seen anything so pitiful in all your life. Probably around at least 6 weeks of age, the tiniest weighed in at a pathetic 180g. A trip to the vet and we all agreed - we had nothing to lose as the largest weighed a mere 390g. The three smallest were unlikely to survive. They were put on a diet of a/d (very high protein concentrated convalescence diet), vitamin paste and Whiskas milk, and antibiotics. Their little bodies and faces were distorted from the lack of proper nourishment, and the tiniest one reminded me more of a baby bird he was so delicate. I kept him with me as much as I could and willed him to live, but he was so fragile, sitting snugly in the palm of my hand. As the weeks went on they started to put on weight. They were lively, playing and behaving like normal kittens. Tippy and Misty were more bemused by them than anything. I continued feeding a very high protein diet, introducing Almo Nature Kitten. Their weight continued to increase and they began to look more like little cats rather than baby birds. Even my husband admits that he didn’t think the tiniest ones would survive, but they have. So thanks to those two little girls who stopped and picked them up - your quick thinking saved their little lives.

Then just to top things off, three little ones were found with their mum wandering the streets. The rain was lashing down and it was freezing cold while they tried to find shelter in a cardboard box. The kittens are not used to being handled and were quite poorly when they first came in, but some worming tablets and antibiotics later they are coming to terms with the day to day noises of living indoors.