On Friday 4th April we had a telephone call. A lady in Leyton had been about to go on shift work, when she had heard the sound of mewing kittens coming from her shed, while her two dogs patrolled the garden.
We leapt into action immediately, and our Terry kindly went round to assess the situation.
What did we find? Four baby tabbies, only 2 or 3 days old... but no Mum. We think she had been scared off by the dogs.
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Without a Mum the babies didn't have long to live, but Terry rushed them into us. They were frozen cold with only an hour or so of life left.
Kathie, our resident baby specialist, had prepared a warm bed with a hot water bottle and on arrival they were instantly massaged. As the heat got through to them, more signs of life appeared. Because they are so young bottle feeding was also necessary, but not easy because they were so far gone.
That's the story so far. They will now receive 24-hour attention and be hand-reared. We will do our utmost to ensure their survival, but we have to be realistic: after their mother left, their chances of survival decreased dramatically.
Update: 5th April
Kathie stayed up all night with the kittens, as they need feeding every two hours. It looks as if they have missed mum's milk for at least 24 hours, and at just a few days old that's a serious problem. We're feeding them with a mother's milk substitute, just as you would a human baby.
Unfortunately, two kittens have died already, and we are not hopeful for a third, although the smallest seems to be responding well. Without their mum's milk, kittens cannot build up an immune system (you can read more about kitten health here) and this doesn't help.
The remaining two kittens are currently wrapped in a warm fleece beside a fire. We're keeping our fingers crossed for them both, and caring for them as best we can. Meanwhile, Terry has set a trap for their mum, because it would improve their chances dramatically if she was looking after them instead.
Final update: 7th April
We're sorry to report that we were unable to save any of the kittens. One by one they passed away, with the final kitten leaving us this morning. Kathie fought for their lives for three nights running, but it seemed they had serious stomach problems - possibly FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis). The only consolation is that they had lots of love,warmth and milk for their very short lives.
It's always traumatic and upsetting when these things happen. And it's also a lesson to all cat owners: that, as wonderful as new life is, it should not be encouraged in the overpopulated feline world. There are already too many homeless cats and kittens that need adopting without creating more.
Please, please please: NEUTER YOUR CATS. It's irresponsible not to.
This story is a little different, because it's about an emergency rescue. Unfortunately it has a sad ending, but it reminds us how important it is to neuter your cats.