Cecil and Barty: the abandoned kittens who became brothers
One was left in a carrier bag with a note saying “Help us, we’ve no mother”. The other was found alone on a building site. Both were tiny and unwell, and in foster care with our member charity Blue Cross they became inseparable.
“Help us, we’ve no mother”
Cecil was just four weeks old when he and two of his siblings were found abandoned in a carrier bag outside Blue Cross’s animal hospital in Merton, south London. With them was a heartbreaking note: “Help us, we’ve no mother.”
Cecil was the smallest of the three. He weighed just 330g, about the same as a cup and a half of rice, and fitted into the palm of the vet’s hand.
When the vets examined him, they found he had a rare congenital deformity called pectus excavatum. His rib cage curved inwards instead of outwards, pressing on his heart and lungs. Without treatment, his life would probably have been heartbreakingly short.
He also had swimmer syndrome, a condition caused by under-developed bones and weak muscles. Cecil dragged himself along on his tummy with his legs splayed out on either side, like a swimmer on land.
A foster home and a new friend
Amanda, London Welfare Officer at Blue Cross, took Cecil and his brother and sister home to foster. She set about building up his strength, so he’d be ready for surgery.
“Cecil followed me everywhere and slept on me. We developed a true bond,” Amanda says.
A few days later, another foster kitten arrived. A kind member of the public had found Barty, also four weeks old, wandering alone on a building site. He was trying to eat gravel, which can be a sign of anaemia. At Blue Cross’s Victoria animal hospital, vets treated him for anaemia and for fleas, which covered his tiny 530g body. Then he went home with Amanda for some TLC and some feline company.
“I introduced them gradually so they weren’t overwhelmed, but Barty was a confident kitten and very happy to have playmates,” Amanda says. “Cecil gravitated towards him immediately. He was smaller than his siblings and sometimes couldn’t keep up, but Barty was small too, so they were perfect companions. They became inseparable. That was great, because it meant we could find Cecil’s siblings their forever homes while Cecil, waiting for surgery, had Barty.”
Cecil’s operation
When Cecil was two months old and weighed 1.725kg, the vets at Victoria animal hospital decided he was ready.
“The surgery involved placing stitches through the skin and around the sternum, or breastbone, and securing them to an external body cast,” explains vet Vicky. “This pulls the bones outward and expands the chest, giving his heart and lungs room to grow.”
The first 24 hours were critical, and Cecil was given oxygen therapy. Amanda couldn’t sleep for worrying, so she caught the first train into work the next morning.
“When he saw me, he snuggled into my hoodie. I sat on the floor with him for a couple of hours while he had a nap. We were so happy to see each other,” she says. “I breathed a sigh of relief knowing he’d got through the op like the little fighter he is.”
Cecil was eating well the next day, so Amanda took him home.
“I had to keep him in a separate room from Barty so his cast wouldn’t get caught or ripped,” she says. “He was so full of energy that for the first couple of nights I slept on the floor with him in case he got his bandages off. In the end we decided a surgical suit was the only answer. All day Barty sat outside Cecil’s room, patiently waiting to see him, so I allowed them supervised time together. Cecil ran straight over to Barty. They groomed each other, ate some food, then curled up and napped.”
It was as if Barty knew his friend was fragile.
A complete success
He didn’t have to wait long. A month after the operation, an X-ray showed that Cecil’s chest had expanded outwards as hoped, giving his heart and lungs space to grow. The cast came off.
“The surgery was a complete success,” says Vicky. “Cecil’s chest will now continue to develop normally.”
Cecil was also neutered (Barty had already had the op a month earlier and could tell him all about it) and went back to Amanda’s to recover. With Barty around, there wasn’t much resting.
“Cecil and Barty had been through so much and had an undeniable bond,” Amanda says. “It would have been awful to separate them. They’d made it clear they were brothers.”
Finding a forever home, together
Cat lover Jen had just moved into a new home with her partner Charlie, and the first thing she wanted to do was adopt a cat, or two.
“A house isn’t a home without a cat,” Jen says. “When we heard about Cecil and Barty, their tough starts and their friendship, our hearts went out to them. Then we saw pictures of Cecil in his surgical suit, which looked like a baby-grow, and tiny but incredibly fluffy Barty. We knew we’d love to adopt them both.”
So after 96 days in Blue Cross care for Cecil and 95 for Barty, the pair left for their new life together. For Amanda, it was bittersweet.
“They were hard to part with. They’d become firm favourites in my house,” she says. “But it’s been a pleasure watching them flourish, and with Jen and Charlie they’ve really landed on their paws. They so deserve their happy ever after.”
Body slams and biscuits
In their new home, the brothers are thriving.
“We thought we might need to be careful with Cecil because of his chest, but Amanda said no, he’s a perfectly healthy kitten,” Jen says. “It’s true, you’d never know anything had been wrong. He wrestles with Barty, and they love to body slam each other! They chase each other up and down the stairs like little elephants stomping around. Their favourite toys are definitely springs. Sometimes they chase so much they end up with sweaty paws.”
They’re proper lap cats too.
“They settled in so quickly. Barty sat on Charlie’s lap on his very first day,” Jen says. “I think Amanda showed them so much love in foster that their scary starts haven’t affected them at all. And of course they have each other to make them feel safe. At night they jump up on the bed, make some biscuits and settle down for a snuggle.”
From abandoned to adored
Cecil and Barty started life helpless and alone. Today they’re healthy, happy and never far from each other’s side, thanks to Amanda, the Blue Cross vets and supporters like you.