We usually feature one of our patients on this section of
the website but this time we're featuring the work of one of
our clients who rears and rehomes rescue kittens.
Suzy has worked with the Biggar and Peebles branch of Cats
Protection and recently began working with the Ayrshire branch.
Cats Protection is an
organisation that works to re-home kittens and cats of all ages.
Suzy is one of their kitten carers.
While taking care of kittens sounds like a lot of fun, it's
actually quite hard work. The kittens come from varying backgrounds
and can be as young as a few days old. Kitten up to 4 or 5 weeks
of age are not yet on solid food and require hand feeding with
kitten formula. Feeding a kitten this small is not a once or
twice a day kind of job; it's every 2-3 hours for the tiniest
of kitten, day AND night. Suzy is a nurse and works shifts -
this is serious dedication on her part to work full-time while
feeding a litter of kittens every few hours.
In
addition to feeding, very young kittens need to be "persuaded"
to urinate and defaecate - something the mother would normally
do by licking their bottoms. Without a mother to do it, Suzy
is also responsible for encouraging elimination by using a piece
of damp cotton wool. Not exactly the cute picture that kittens
bring to mind, is it?
Some of the kittens Suzy gets have not had the best start in
life and often need flea and worming treatment. Occasionally
a kitten will become ill from a virus or other infection and
then Suzy must not only provide care for the ill kitten but
make sure nothing is passed along to the healthy ones. As Suzy
has cats (and a part-time dog) of her own, keeping the Cats
Protection kittens separate from the rest of the household is
a job in itself.
In
addition to the medical treatment required, Suzy also socialises
the kittens, so that they will make good family pets. Kittens
that are handled by people, introduced to other cats (and dogs)
and generally living in a domestic situation become used to
the usual hustle and bustle of a home. This makes them well-adjusted
and less like to be frightened of being handled, loud noises
or other family pets.
Once the kittens are old enough to be re-homed, Suzy has to
say good-bye to the little balls of fur she has come to know
(and name). It is truly a selfless act to spend hours caring
for a kitten only to let it go to another home. Suzy often stays
in touch with the owners of her kittens and has the pleasure
of watching many of them grow to happy, healthy and loved adult
cats.
Suzy
is just one of many clients involved in cat charity work, often
supplementing with their own money. The charities are grateful
to receive donations at any time of the year (food, carriers,
items for jumble sales, etc) but especially at the holidays.
MEET
SOME OF OUR PATIENTS: “Rescue Kittens"
In
addition to feeding, very young kittens need to be "persuaded"
to urinate and defaecate - something the mother would normally
do by licking their bottoms. Without a mother to do it, Suzy
is also responsible for encouraging elimination by using a piece
of damp cotton wool. Not exactly the cute picture that kittens
bring to mind, is it? 
In
addition to the medical treatment required, Suzy also socialises
the kittens, so that they will make good family pets. Kittens
that are handled by people, introduced to other cats (and dogs)
and generally living in a domestic situation become used to
the usual hustle and bustle of a home. This makes them well-adjusted
and less like to be frightened of being handled, loud noises
or other family pets. 
Suzy
is just one of many clients involved in cat charity work, often
supplementing with their own money. The charities are grateful
to receive donations at any time of the year (food, carriers,
items for jumble sales, etc) but especially at the holidays.