Our Animal Welfare Officers received a call last week from a member of the public concerned about a female cat living in her garden. She suspected the cat had been abandoned by her previous neighbour, who had left her behind when they moved away. The cat was in distress and appeared to be pregnant and bleeding from her tail area so we immediately rushed to the scene.

By the time we arrived, she had given birth to three kittens and more were on the way. Sadly, one of the kittens was not breathing so AJ, our Animal Welfare Officer, attempted to revive it while in the ambulance on the way to The Mayhew. Our Vet Team took over once they got to the clinic but unfortunately, the kitten could not be revived and passed away.

AJ tries to revive the tiny new born kitten

The mother cat, who we called Elm, was still in a lot of distress so we quickly settled her and the other two kittens into a quiet cabin in our cattery. Shortly afterwards she gave birth to a further two healthy kittens.

Now feeling calm after her ordeal, brave Elm is relaxing in our cattery with her new family. She suffered an infection following the birth which made her feel quite poorly but she has risen to the challenge of motherhood and has been doing a sterling job of looking after her four kittens! They have been named Chestnut, Rowan, Bodhi and Duffie and they are all healthy and doing well. They will all be neutered and vaccinated before being put up for adoption in the next few months.

This Mother’s Day, please join The Mayhew in celebrating animal mums like Elm, who truly are one in a million! Why not show your appreciation by making a donation?

[donate text=”Donate now to celebrate our animal mums” source=”Elm and kittens”]