[donate text=”Donate now to help us care for kittens like Lulu” source=”Lulu”]

At just 6 weeks old Lulu was sold online and the new owner collected her from a house in Oxford. The buyer had never owned a cat or kitten before and hadn’t researched about what owning and looking after a kitten involved.

The seller told the buyer that Lulu was 8 weeks old and because of her age she could be away from Mum. The lady believed the seller’s information. The seller also told the buyer that she could leave Lulu alone in her flat all day whilst she was at work which again is false information. The buyer works full time.

Upon bringing her home, the owner found that Lulu had diarrhoea so she took her to a vet. The vet recognised the young age of the kitten and set the owner straight informing her that Lulu was actually only 6 weeks old and should never have been removed from her Mum. The vet also informed the woman that a young kitten could not be left home alone all day.

A kitten this age needs feeding four times a day on solid food mashed up with a little water added so the kitten can lap it up more easily. Kittens also need to be watched over at this age as they could get into all sorts of scrapes and situations and they can hide and fall asleep in the tiniest of gaps and places around the home. Kittens also need company and a young, single kitten will get bored and can get depressed, ultimately affecting the kitten’s health. A kitten’s health can also deteriorate rapidly, so if an owner is out for long periods of time and can’t monitor their kitten’s health and take it to the vet promptly, the kitten is at risk.

After visiting the vet, the owner panicked and called The Mayhew for help, sensibly deciding the best thing to do in the circumstances was to hand Lulu over to us.

At this young age, kittens can still learn a great deal from their Mum cat and siblings. Lulu’s Mum would have taught her appropriate interaction and playing with her siblings would have taught her what hurts and what doesn’t and her boundaries. If kittens are removed from Mum and siblings prematurely, they can grow up to be more exuberant than usual.

We unfortunately see this situation all too often. As well as puppy farming, there are unscrupulous breeders of kittens who will lie about the age of the kittens when selling them because they want to sell quickly for profit. When the buyer went back to find the original online advert for the kitten, the advert had been removed. Breeders also use fake addresses and homes to show the kittens to prospective buyers so it gives the impression that the sellers are not breeders and are breeding their own cats in a home environment, similar to how puppy breeders dupe and mislead buyers. Lulu will be ready for adoption in a few months when she is neutered, vaccinated and a wee bit older!

This Mother’s Day, little Lulu is without her Mum. Please consider making a donation to help us care for her and other kittens who are torn away from their mother at too young an age. Thank you.

[donate text=”Donate now to help us care for kittens like Lulu” source=”Lulu”]