It's Not the Way it Was Supposed to Be

One minute she was free and the next she was in a trap. For nearly 12 hours yesterday this frightened stray cat was confined and exposed to the brutal summer heat. When the inexperienced man who had set the trap came back, all 3 of the ones he had set, were occupied.

The plan was to take the captured cats to be spay or neutered. When it was discovered one of the cats was pregnant, a call went out for someone to foster her. The woman who agreed to take her for a day until other arrangements could be made, put the expecting mom in a cage in her basement. When she checked on her later, she discovered 6 newborn kittens. The mother got as far as cleaning the afterbirth off her babies, but she was showing little to no interest in feeding them. That was when SNUGGLE Pet Rescue was contacted.

By the time we got the kittens today there were only three still alive. We suspect the mother cat had her kittens early because of the stress brought on by being trapped. Given they were preemies, and they had not been eating properly, Fergus, Frankie and Frannie were all way below the birth rate of a full-term kitten. Their legs and part of their face had no fur on them; another sign they had arrived too early.

Our Foster Care Volunteer knew immediately when she held each baby, they were too cold, so what was most important was getting them warm, even though she knew Fergus, Frankie and Frannie were way past due for a feeding. If you feed kittens when their body temperature drops to 97 degrees or below, they are at risk of their organs being damaged. Bleeding from the mouth or nose are signs this is happening.

When the kittens were warm enough, they got their first feeding as well as other supportive care to give them a much-needed boost. Kittens at this age are extremely fragile though and our Foster Care Volunteers are prepared for the outcome none of them want. Several hours after the kittens were settled into their carrier, we lost Fergus. He was the runt of the litter, so it's understandable that he had reached the point there was nothing left we could do to save him.

Frannie and Frankie are in good hands and if there is anyone who can help them to survive their stressful start to life it's the person taking care of them now. We're hoping these two end up being some of the babies that surprise us all.