A woman’s social media plea led to a late night mercy dash to save four newborn kittens.
Kerryanne Short, of Alston Moor, issued an urgent appeal on the Absolutely Alston Facebook page, asking if anybody had a cat with kittens, after her own cat gave birth, but subsequently died, leaving them with no mother to nurse them.
She said: “My cat has had kittens, but unfortunately she has passed away, they are around nine hours old. There are four. Any help please?”
A deluge of concerned people offered good wishes and suggestions and Pennines Wildlife Rescue offered to collect the kittens and offer them as much care as possible in the absence of the mother cat.
Once the kittens were warmed up, JoJo Johnson and her husband Anthony, who run the rescue centre, based at Blackcleugh Farm, Carrshield, put out their own appeal for help, having just taken on the four orphaned nine-hour-old kittens.
They said they were hand-feeding, but were hoping to find a lactating mother cat who might be willing to let them suckle, too, as that would give them the best chances.
Newborn kittens need to be fed every two hours 24/7 and a mother cat does that job best.
Pennines Wildlife Rescue later reported that a mother cat had been found in Gateshead and she had accepted the four orphaned kittens as her new litter and had started nursing them.
