The Blue Cross rehoming centre in Torbay has taken in a furry bundle of joy who all need round-the-clock care after their mother rejected them at birth. A litter of five two-week-old kittens were brought in by their previous owner as she could not offer the kittens the level of care they needed.
Gingerbread, Candy Cane, Frosty, Tiny Tim and Cinnamon are being cared for by some of the staff at the rehoming centre on Ashley Prior’s Lane, as they do not have any foster homes suitable for taking on such a task as hand rears. The tiny kittens need to be bottle fed every two hours, including through the night, so even though they’re adorable, it is a challenging time.
Since August, Torbay’s rehoming centre has taken in 38 kittens from the ages of two weeks to seven months old; their latest kitten season yet.
The group will be going up for rehoming around eight weeks of age so will be looking for homes in the New Year but won’t be available to go home till they are at least nine weeks old.
Foster homes are a lifeline for pets who need to be hand reared and pets who struggle in kennels and catteries. In what is already a crucial or stressful time in a pet’s life, being in kennels and catteries can have a detrimental effect on their happiness and lead to deterioration in health and behaviour.
The centre is also in need of other foster carers for cats, kittens and small animals.
Jo Dempsey, Animal Welfare Assistant at Blue Cross Torbay, said: “With Christmas coming up, we’d really love to be able to give loving moments to all the pets in our care, particularly for the hand-rears who are so dependent on us for survival. We’ve seen a record number of unwanted litters this autumn, many accidental, so please do think about neutering cats to avoid having so many in shelters.”
The centre is looking for a hand rear foster carer who doesn’t work and has the time to potentially feed kittens every two hours. It will be a position that would likely have the kittens for up to seven weeks. Experienced hand rear fosterers are desirable but full training will be given and staff are always on hand in case of any emergencies.
Jo continues: “Thanks so much to all the volunteers we do have who help give special moments to pets who might not be able to cope otherwise.”
If you aren’t able to foster, but want to help kittens in need, the centre is running low on Royal Cannin powder kitten milk, Royal Cannin dry 1st stage and 2nd stage and Royal Cannin wet kitten food.
Blue Cross is a charity and receives no government funding so relies on the generous support of animal lovers to continue helping pets in need. To donate to Blue Cross visit bluecross.org.uk/Christmas-news or to donate £10, text Moments to 70557 to give pets in need moments that matter this Christmas.
To adopt a pet from Torbay or to apply to foster needy pets, visit the Blue Cross website www.bluecross.org.uk or phone the centre on 0300 777 1550.
I guess this post is bittersweet. Rejection of kittens are just horrible. Bless those who are taking care of the kittens. Those Christmas kittens are just precious. I think they got the best gift, they got saved for now.
I have hand-fed kittens myself, a long, long time ago, when their feral mother was hit in the road. It is a lot of work, but so rewarding to see them thrive and grow up to where they can be adopted.