What It Takes to Look after Marbles, Hopscotch, and Skittles
So, I’m sure many of you have been following the story of these 3 kittens, Marbles, Hopscotch, and Skittles at BCWR.
Many people have instant attraction due to their breed; however, I would like to explain the reality of caring for these kittens.
They were brought to us on the 8th January by their owner, who was incidently also their breeder.
He told us that they were born by Cesarean Section 8 weeks previously.
It had taken 4 years for the poor mother to get pregnant. (Their mum has now definitely been neutered).
Why did he bring them to us, you may ask??
Well, Billy, the Breeder, took them to the vets for health check prior to being sold. Apparently, he already had homes lined up and was selling them for a tidy sum that I’m sure would have covered the caeserian, and he would still have made a nice profit.
Unfortunately, at the health check, it was identified that these kittens weren’t quite right at all.. And due to their imperfections, the breeder “wanted shut” asap.
Thankfully, the vets advised Billy the Breeder to contact us as we had worked with similar cases.
He rang us immediately and within five minutes of leaving the vets Billy and the kittens were on our doorstep. Hopscotch, Marbles and Skittles were half the weight they should have been for their age. They were clearly failing to thrive.
They all have a neurological condition called Cerebellar Hypoplasia.
The condition itself is not generally life threatening however if not managed carefully their life certainly was in danger.
From arriving with us they have failed to be able to eat.
They have a £60 a day (nutritional) habit, and need syringe feeding recovery liquid as this is the only safe way of delivering nutrition to them. They have had several odd and sudden episodes ranging from being totally off their feet / partial paralysis to unexplained vomiting.
Skittles can’t barely hold her head up, let alone stand or walk and Marbles and Hopscotch keep having strange neurological symptoms where they cannot stand but otherwise are fine. We are working really hard with them to “uncomplicate” them and make them more independent through physio, strengthening, and enablement exercises. They are very happy, playful and they have no concept of their disabilities.
But when you contact us, wanting to adopt them this is why they are not currently available.
These kittens are exasperating to look after.
Rewarding… but certainly not enjoyable… its exhausting.
£60/24 hour to feed them.
Constant cleaning, feeding, and physio .
We are not hoarding them because of their breed, regardless of their breed, they would be getting this same supportive, intensive round-the-clock care.
We are witnessing glimmers of improvement; however, we are also dealing with weekly setbacks.
Last weekend, they vomited all weekend and received fluid therapy and intensive care.
Our vets were on hand to help offer the best advice all weekend.
All this is a result of bad breeding.
I hope that by reading this, it’s clear that , with all our cats regardless of colour, age, breed , condition, or financial implications, BCWR WILL ONLY DO THE RIGHT THING .
We will look after them until they are well enough and as independent as they possibly can be until adoption is considered an option .
Instead of getting angry with us because adoption is not currently adoption for these kittens consider other ways you could help!
We are always grateful for donations of recovery liquid, support towards our vet bill, or even a bag of wood based cat litter .
We are excited for the future of these kittens and cannot wait for the day when they are stable, independent, and thriving and when we can start looking at the adoption options. However, for now, it’s one feed at a time.