Helping the Ones We Can

Link, Onox and Zelda were the reason for a lot of on-line chatter yesterday. Discussed in these conversations were three additional kittens, all a part of one litter. The six were found under a porch in Montgomery City, Missouri. It had been raining really hard and the cries for help got the attention of the people living in the house. When they peeked under the porch, they discovered the soaking wet kittens, but no sign of mom.

Montgomery City Animal Control was contacted, and they came out and picked up the waterlogged babies. Their staff did not have the time or resources to take care of kittens this young, so the urgent networking began.

SNUGGLE Pet Rescue was one of the organizations that stepped up and offered to take three of the 6-day old kittens. We wished we could have taken the entire litter, but we just did not have the space for that many with two of our Foster Care Volunteers still under restriction from receiving any new kittens because of the Panleuk outbreak. Taking care of newborn kittens is incredibly time consuming and the more you have, it cuts into the time that needs to be spent on each one and we will never provide anything but high-quality care.

The remaining three kittens went to a rescue in Rolla, Missouri, which is about two hours away. Until they could be transported there was a person taking care of all six. When our volunteer showed up to take Link, Onox and Zelda she brought with her a bottle, nipples and formula since the person caring for the kittens temporarily did not have the supplies on hand. She was ready to feed all the babies but when she saw how cold they were she left the woman what she needed to feed them once they got warm.

The first instinct people have when they find an abandoned kitten is to feed it. If the kitten is cold though, hypothermia inhibits food from passing through the intestines properly and feeding them could be dangerous and potentially fatal. Therefore, it’s critical to immediately begin warming a cold kitten before giving them a bottle.

Link, Onox and Zelda are big and strong, so they had not been without their mom for long before they were discovered. Mom may have eventually returned but given how wet the kittens were, they may not have lived until she did. During the first feeding last night, Onox fell asleep with the bottle still in his mouth, a sure sign he was warm, had a full belly and felt safe. SNUGGLE Pet Rescue was once again grateful to be able to give these two brothers and their sister a good chance of being able to grow up.