Clever cat leads the way in rescue of her kittens

05.10.11

An exceptionally clever cat, who was thrown from a car, literally led the way so that the inspector could also rescue her four young kittens, which were hidden away in a barn.

RSPCA Inspector Jon Knight had been called out to rescue the young cat, after she was spotted being thrown from a car in the town of March in Cambridgeshire, last month.

 

The concerned caller had been monitoring the cat and started feeding her, and after two weeks of perseverance, managed to confine the cat in a green house in Upwell Road.

Cat calls out for RSPCA inspector to follow

The cat, who has since been named Jolie, was taken to one of our vets for treatment. She was quite thin and had a grazed face as a result from being thrown from the car, she was also treated for fleas and worms and given a good feed.

 

However, Jolie had to be returned to the location she was found in as it was clear that she had recently given birth to kittens, who would need their mum.

 

As soon as Jolie was returned she began calling out.

At first Jon believed she was calling out to her kittens so he watched and waited to see what happened. But it soon became clear that Jolie was meowing at him.

Then, amazingly, as soon as the inspector began to follow her, she moved forward meowing all the time and led the inspector across country straight to where her kittens were.

Jon said:

I began to follow her and she took me through the rear garden, across a ploughed field and into a farmyard. All the time she was calling me and waiting for me to follow.

She then took me into an old farm machinery barn and led me to behind a stack of old wood and there were her four kittens.

There is absolutely no way I would have found these kittens without this cat’s help. She was a huge distance away from the garden she had first been found in, and was clearly doing all she could to lead me to her kittens.

In my 15 years as an inspector I have never had this happen before and I was quite shocked by it all. Jolie had been through an awful lot, but she showed real maternal instinct and determination, she really is a remarkable cat.

 

Jolie and her kittens are doing well

The kittens were tiny and still had their eyes closed. They were collected and taken with their mum to our Block Fen Animal Centre, where they will stay until they are all fit, healthy and old enough to be rehomed.

Laura Prince, cattery supervisor at Block Fen Animal Centre, said:

The kittens, two boys and two girls, are very healthy and fat! So they have been well looked after by Jolie.

She is quite thin so we are doing what we can to get some weight on her, although she probably won't get back to normal until the kittens have been weaned.

She is a lovely friendly cat and only very young herself. You can tell how pleased she is to have a nice warm home and lots of food on tap.

Appeal for information

Can you help?

We're appealing for information about the car which Jolie was thrown from, which was dark in colour.

Anyone with information is urged to call us on 0300 1234 999.

 

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