’Royal’ litter of kittens rescued
In February, a member of the public discovered a cat and her litter of three newborn kittens under tarpaulin which was covering the patio furniture in their garden. Fortunately, the homeowner called Together for Animals member Mayhew to help the young feline family.
Tabby mum, Lilibet, had found a dry and sheltered place in the garden to give birth, but her kittens were still in serious danger from the freezing cold and even if they had survived, without support they would likely have become feral.
Mayhew’s Animal Welfare Officers were able to collect Lilibet and her little ones and take them back to the warmth and safety of their centre in North London. Lilibet was very friendly – and comfortable around people – so it was clear that she was likely a domestic stray, but sadly she didn’t have a microchip, so the team were unable to trace any previous owners.
The Veterinary team were on hand to check both Mum and her kittens over straight away, before they were settled down to snuggle together in a warm, comfortable cat cabin.
When it came to choosing names the team’s thoughts jumped straight to the biggest event of the year – the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and so Lilibet was named both after the Queen’s childhood family nickname, and her newest great-grandchild. Likewise, Lilibet’s kittens were also given suitably regal names: Victoria, George and Edward.
After the kittens reached two weeks old, it was time to start socialising them to make sure they grew up to be comfortable around people. This is a crucial stage and involves getting the kittens accustomed to all the familiar sights, sounds and smells of a family home. To help with this, Lilibet and her kittens were placed with one of Mayhew’s dedicated foster carers, who provided them with a safe and nurturing home environment where they could take their first steps towards finding their forever homes.
Foster carer Carolyn said: “The key role we played was in socialising the kittens, which means handling them, playing with them, and getting them used to the sorts of stimuli that you’d typically find in the domestic environment, like the sound of the hoover, the radio, the hairdryer and so on.”
“We tried to give Lilibet and her kittens as much variety as we could, by giving them different foods to try, and different toys to play with and games to play, and different places to explore, since they are such naturally curious creatures.