For some time now Wings and Paws Rescue have been helping a colony of feral cats living near the M6. We go down and trap as many as we can, get them neutered, give them any treatment required and then, once they’re fighting fit, we release them again.
We do this to help keep the population down and to protect the female cats, who get constantly hounded by the un-neutered males. Cats can have litters of between four and eight kittens every few months – that’s a lot of kittens and a lot of stress on the bodies of the often very young, female cats.
At the beginning of November 2020, our cat trapping team spotted a very small and very unwell kitten, who was hiding in an air vent. He looked extremely ill and was literally just skin and bone. Our volunteers managed to catch him (unfortunately one got a nasty bite in the process!) and they instantly drove him to Straitons Vets, for assessment.
“He wouldn’t have made
another night”
The kitten was immediately treated with Doxycycline and given an injection of Convenia. The vet said that the five-week-old kitten was so unwell that “He wouldn’t have made another night on the streets”. He had a horrific case of cat flu, and it was touch-and-go as to whether he would recover at all.
KITTEN On the ropes
He was extremely malnourished and very ill from the virus, so the vet also gave the kitten a course of oral antibiotics and, as he was too young to be away from his mother, the tiny baby went to one of our most experienced foster homes, to be hand reared.
The kitten took around eight weeks to start showing any signs of improvement and was aptly named Rocky by his foster family, because even when the odds were stacked against him, Rocky the Kitten wasn’t giving up.
Each day he was getting stronger and stronger thanks to his dedicated foster family. Without their 24-hour care and attention, Rocky would not have survived.
Rocky takes another hit....
At the end of December 2020, Rocky was diagnosed with the cat herpes virus, meaning that, although he can be treated to reduce his cat flu symptoms, he will always be vulnerable and prone to infections and disease.
Because of this, it was decided that Rocky would be too sickly to be rehomed, so he has become a permanent resident with his foster mom and her other foster animals.
ROCKY THE WONDER KITTEN
GetS back up again!
Rocky is now living a full and happy life with his family and loves to play with his other foster cats and dogs. He has grown up to be a boisterous and playful young cat and gets the care and attention he needs from his foster mom, to keep his condition under control.
He really has earned the name ‘Rocky’, as he’s proved himself to be a proper little fighter!
If you'd like more info on how you can become a fosterer for Wings and Paws Rescue take a look at our fosterer requirements.
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