Three four week old kittens were recently brought into The Mayhew Animal Home after being found dumped in a box on the street, covered in maggots and diarrhoea.

The tiny emaciated kittens were discovered alongside a six month old kitten, believed to be a sibling, on the corner of the road in Wembley, North London. They were found by a cyclist, who immediately brought the kittens straight to The Mayhew.

On arrival the older kitten, named Apricot by Mayhew staff, seemed to be in an okay condition and was a good weight, but in contrast the younger kittens, named Cherry, Raspberry and Blackcurrant, were in a really bad way.

They were completely emaciated, stiff from dehydration, covered in diarrhoea and all had sore wounds that were badly infected and crawling with maggots. Our vet team got straight to work by giving them fluids, cleaning the wounds and providing them with antibiotics.

Our Head of Animal Welfare, Gillian Notton, said: “The wounds must have been incredibly painful for the poor kittens. We suspect that they got bitten by another animal, maybe a rat, which later got infected by flies, who laid maggots in the wounds.”

“We often see lots of kittens coming into our Home at this time of year, though we do get them all year round, and this just highlights how important it is to get your cat neutered. We offer affordable and low cost neutering for cats and dogs at our Vet Clinic, so there is no excuse for not getting your pet neutered.”

Thankfully after receiving medical treatment from our vets and lots of care, love and attention from our cattery team, the kittens’ wounds have started to heal nicely and Cherry, Raspberry and Blackcurrant have started to come out of their shell and show off their playful and cheeky sides.

The Mayhew’s Cat Welfare Coordinator, Georgina Disney, said: “We can’t imagine how terrifying it must have been for these kittens to be abandoned in a box. With the hot weather lately and the kittens being so dehydrated, it’s worrying to think that they could have died if they hadn’t been found.”

“Being four weeks old, the kittens should be with their mother, but she was nowhere to be found. We believe that Apricot is a sibling of the younger kittens from an older litter.”

‘Unfortunately we see a lot of unwanted and dumped cats, some born to stray mums, who have been abandoned. At The Mayhew we help hundreds of people in crisis situations every year, and we wish whoever dumped the kittens had come to us or another cat shelter instead of abandoning them on the streets.”

Once the fluffy kittens are ready to be neutered, they will be available to find their purrfect forever home.

The Mayhew’s Vet Team give all of the kittens that come into our care a thorough health check, including vaccinating, neutering and treat them for fleas and worms. Our experienced Cattery team spend hours socialising them, feeding them and making them comfortable and our adoption team work tirelessly to find them new forever homes.

Every year our Animal Welfare Officers and Community Vet Clinic respond to hundreds of animals in need, please consider a donation to help them help even more animals.

If you are interested in adopting a cat in our care please visit here or call 020 8962 8009.

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