We rescued Patti and her kittens from outside a block of flats in Llanrumney, late in April this year. Patti was part of a feral colony that had lived outside the flats for many years. The colony is fed and monitored by some of the residents. Both SHUA and CPL have been actively involved in trapping, neutering and then releasing these feral cats back to their home but Patti had, so far, proved to be quite elusive.
We knew that Patti was pregnant and then one day our contact at the flats called to say that Patti had been hanging around the lower balcony and that they could definitely hear kittens' meowing The risks for kittens in the wild are obviously far greater than those faced by healthy adults and so it was crucial that we caught this little family as quickly as possible.
The situation then became critical when we learned that someone at the flats was deliberately and repeatedly throwing creosote at the feral colony. Creosote is corrosive and burns like acid. Several cats, as well as a resident's pet dog, had already been killed in this cruel and inhumane way. We knew that if we left Patti and her babies at the flats, she would probably meet the same horrible fate. Her babies would then starve to death or fall prey to predators such as foxes or tom-cats.
We went down to the flats that evening and, although Mum instantly bolted at the sight of us, could see two of her kittens and picked them up. We then heard meowing coming from some nearby shelving and found two more kittens - one was, sadly, already dead and the other was very sickly and in a terrible state. They were all approx. 1 week old.
The usual way to trap Mum is to use her kittens as 'bait', enclosed in another cage that can only be accessed by her going in to the trap. It was obvious that the third kitten needed immediate veterinary attention and so we settled only the 2, healthier, kittens into the 'bait' cage, with comfy blankets and a special heat-pad, as well as food and water. We asked the residents to check the trap regularly and rushed the other, sickly, kitten to the vets.
The poor little girl was severely dehydrated and was suffering from cat 'flu. Tragically, despite round-the-clock care, her tiny body simply wasn't strong enough and she passed away a few days later.
We managed to catch Mum later the same night and brought all 3 back to the shelter. On closer examination we could see that all were displaying 'flu-like symptoms and, after a trip to the vets, we started them all on medication the following day.
Patti, thankfully, made a full recovery. For Peter (all black) & Austell (black & white), the situation wasn't so straight-forward. The immunity provided in the form of antibodies passed from Mum to babies via the colostrum (the milk she produces in the first few hours after giving birth) is only effective for a few weeks. Beyond that, with their immature immune systems, fighting infection and illness is just much more difficult.
Both Peter & Austell had severe eye infections. Peter couldn't even open one of his eyes. When bathed open, it was just a mess of yellow puss and the eye itself was barely visible. The vets started them on an intensive course of oral antibiotics, combined with antibiotic eye gel. We bathed their eyes regularly and kept them as clean and comfortable as we could. Despite all of this, the outlook was bleak - they feared that Peter would lose the sight in one eye.
At the end of the treatment, both of Austell's and one of Peter's eyes had recovered fully. Unfortunately, his other eye was still in a bad way - it looked as if it had a film over the surface of the eye. There wasn't much more that could be done for the little chap and so we had to accept that he would only ever be able to see properly with one eye.
When they were old enough to take away from Mum, we placed Peter and Austell with one of our foster families for intensive socialisation. Despite all the handling that they had had with their regular bathing and medicating, Mum, being feral, was encouraging them to hiss and spit at us! We had to put a stop to that quick-smart!
The two little kittens still had tummy and respiratory problems long after the treatment for the eye infection had finished. This was finally knocked on the head with yet another course of antibiotics. Peter also had what is termed a 'rodent ulcer' on his lip - a bit of a misnomer really because it has nothing to do with rodents at all! In humans, this is a form of skin cancer and is very serious. In cats, it is a skin lesion which can easily be treated with steroids. Peter's ulcer has now healed beautifully and there is only the tiniest of scars.
Patti, along with her sister, Austin, and 2 other feral cats staying at SHUA, went to a fabulous new home on a big farm in West Wales at the end of July.
Peter & Austell passed their socialisation program with flying colours and were homed together at the end of July. Despite everything that they have been through, they are happy, well-adjusted young kittens. Austell's favourite part of the day is being brushed (and all the cuddles that go with it, of course). Peter is just a total softy and a bit of a tart - he loves nothing better than to roll over onto his back for a tummy-rub. As long as you keep cuddling him, he'll stay on your lap or in your arms for hours and hours!
And we had some even more promising news towards the end of July - the senior vet at our local surgery reassessed Peter's eye and said that a 2 month course of eye-drops might just clear the film, with a good chance of regaining perfect vision. He needs to be tested every week to make sure that there are no ulcers on the eye and, as long as none appear, the outlook is good. After only a week of treatment, foster Mum Linda said that the film covering his eye was starting to break down and that she could actually see some healthy eye for the first time.
