Abby has a wonderfully unusual story. In April this year, Abby paid our shelter a visit, heavily pregnant! She walked right up to our door asking to come in. So we went out with a chip scanner to see if she was microchipped, but before we could do that, she ran straight inside looking for a comfortable place to settle. It was clear Abby was almost ready to have her kittens and needed somewhere safe to do so. We set up a nice quiet room for her with a comfy nest for her to settle down in and that’s exactly what she did. We postered the area and asked around to see if anyone knew where she had come from, but got no info in return.
Poor Abby came in dirty and with horrendous diarrhoea, and obviously wasn’t feeling too great. She must have been trying to find scraps of food to eat from bins around the area, which is likely where she picked up a bug. She did still manage to give birth to five tiny kittens. Exhausted from the birth, Abby was struggling. We stepped in and decided to remove the newborn kittens from her in order to allow her time to recuperate and try to get her on her feet again.
The kittens were hand reared by a member of the cat team for the week, giving two hourly feeds and toileting. Sadly one little kitten passed away, but the remaining four were thriving, thankfully. By the end of the week after some much needed medicine, fluids and some nice tasty, rehydration foods, Abby was feeling much better.
On checking her night cam, however, we could see she was unsettled in the evenings, going to her nest and calling, before wandering around the room then going back to the nest again. Something was missing. Her babies? So the following day we decided to take the kittens back in with her to see how she would do with them. Abby flew into the kittens’ carrier as soon as it was set down and the door opened, and she refused to leave them. Abby was so happy to see her beautiful babies and immediately began to nurse and groom them. This was one of the most heartwarming moments we’d ever witnessed. We even tried to
transfer Abby’s kittens into the nest so they could all have a little more space, but Abby wanted them all in the carrier with her! We ended up placing the carrier in the nest and adding a heat pad!
We knew Abby was going to be a great mum, but her struggles certainly weren’t over. Abby’s tummy troubles persisted and the kittens would inevitably pick up this bug too, meaning everyone needed medicine and regular faecal tests. As you can imagine, for five cats this treatment was not cheap, but it was imperative. After lots of perseverance, barrier nursing, medicine, special diets and loving care, all of the cats recovered from their bug and were ready for rehoming!
The kittens were homed in pairs and Abby went off to a home of her own. All are now enjoying their new lives and we are so happy for them. We are big fans of kittens, but we are also big fans of neutering to prevent unwanted cats coming into the world and suffering. Just imagine what could have, and what likely would
have happened to Abby and her kittens had she not walked through our door that day. Thankfully, Abby must have known where to come for help, and we were able to do everything necessary to ensure this mum and her babies were cared for properly.
We couldn’t have done this without the continued support of our donors. We hope you will join them in keeping our rescue running and saving cats’ lives by donating whatever you can.
Overall, just Abby alone cost £897 to treat.
Recovery Tails Christmas Campaign
This Christmas, please help to raise £10,000 to help us care for and heal cats like Abby and her kittens, and keep this crucial work going. Your support will help to pay for vet treatment, special foods and medication for all the cats and kittens who arrive in the Shelter sick and in need of a warm bed this winter.
