November 2009 - 5 Bundles of Fluff
On Monday the 2nd of November, an extremely cold and wet day, six little two week old kittens were bought into the surgery after being abandoned by their mother.
The kittens were suffering from hypothermia, malnutrition and were extremely weak and bedraggled. They were immediately placed into the incubator to help raise their temperature. One of the kittens was suffering so badly from hypothermia that she was carried around under one of the nurses tops to help her gain body heat, although the outlook for her was bleak.
As the kittens temperature started to rise, they became more active and started to shout and scream for FOOD! A milk substitute powder was prepared using warm water. The kittens gulped the food down as they were syringe fed one by one and then encouraged to go to the toilet; as at this age they are unable to do so unaided. Once their little bellies were full with food, they returned to the incubator for a sleep in preparation for their next meal.
The kittens were taken home by Elaine that evening where she would feed them every two hours throughout the night. Unfortunately the weak kitten did not survive.
The kittens returned to the surgery every day where they were fed, bathed and cuddled lots each day. Gemma, one of our nurses, took the kittens in as a fosterer. The kittens began to be weaned, this was an extremely messy process with not only feet in the food bowls but bellies and bums too!!!!!!! When the kittens reached four weeks their own individual characters began to show and so they were named:
Jon named after Jon Smallwood due to his love of climbing up everything insight including the curtains, Duncan for his love of swimming (in his food) named after Duncan Goodhew. Squiffy and a little girl Blaize were simply named due to their lovely markings. Finally Scraggy just because!
The kittens are now 5-6 weeks old and have completely taken over Gemmas house, dogs, her own cats and have caused many nights of lost sleep!!!!!!
The kittens were extremely lucky to have been found when they were. They have turned into real characters and certainly have several members of staff wrapped around their tiny paws!
They really were five bundles of black and white fluffy fun!
