Missey is fairy dog-mother to litter of rescue kittens

09.12.11

An RSPCA rescue dog who was hand reared as a puppy is repaying the favour by caring for a litter of kittens saved from being drowned in a drain.

Four shivering week-old kittens were brought into our Hull and East Riding Animal Centre soaking wet and wrapped in a towel by an animal lover who had stopped three youths from dropping them into a drainage ditch.

Staff at the centre leapt into action to save the tiny black kittens giving them intensive round-the-clock care with bottle feeds every three hours.

Lending a helping paw

When animal care assistant, Carina McLean, took the kittens home with her at night her pet dog Missey decided to lend a paw too.

Four-year-old Missey, a crossbreed, was bottle-fed by RSPCA staff when her mother rejected her as a puppy. She was taken in by Carina when she was just six weeks old.

Carina said:

"Missey has taken a real shine to them. She cleans them, giving them a good lick all over, a nice wash and brush up.

"She is like a surrogate mum to them. She doesn't mind that they are kittens, she was hand reared herself so she's repaying the favour."

Lucky to be alive

The kittens, two males and two females, were rushed into the animal centre on Wednesday, 26 October by a man who had spotted three youths about to drop them into a drainage ditch.

Receptionist Amanda Nightingale said:

He walked through the door clutching a bundle. Inside the towel was four kittens.

They were wet and quite dirty. They were so small they didn't have their eyes open.

The man was very upset. He said he had seen three youths trying to drown them. Fortunately he managed to take the kittens off them.

They were really, really lucky. If they had gone into the water they would have died.

Named after X Factor judges - Louis, Gary, Kelly and Tulisa!

When they were first brought in the kittens weighed just 150g.

But thanks to the round-the-clock care from centre staff and Missey the dog, they have doubled their weight over the past five weeks.

Now six weeks old, the gorgeous black kittens have been named after X Factor judges Louis, Gary, Kelly and Tulisa!

They will be ready for rehoming soon once they have put on a bit more weight and been vaccinated and neutered. 

Caring for the kittens

Carina said:

Kittens will normally stay with their mothers until about eight weeks so I have been hand rearing them, bottle feeding them special kitten milk every three hours.

My alarm goes off every three hours through the night. My husband has been really good and even helps me bottle feed them. Missey's on hand to clean them up after their feeds.

They have started eating soaked biscuits now and are already learning to use the litter tray.

They are doing really well. They will eventually be ready for rehoming when they weigh at least a kilo.

They will make lovely pets because they are so used to being handled – and thanks to Missey they don't mind dogs at all!

 

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Can you help?

We'd really like to hear from anyone who has any information at all about the youths seen trying to drown these kittens, no matter how insignificant you think it might be.

Please contact our 24-hour cruelty line - 0300 1234 999. All calls are treated in the strictest confidence.

Adopt a cat

Our Hull and East Riding Animal Centre currently has 65 cats and kittens in need of loving new homes. If you're interested in adopting a cat or kitten, please contact:

RSPCA Hull and East Riding Animal Centre

Telephone: 01482 341331 

Or use our pet search in our rehoming pages to find pets for adoption in your area.
 

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