Joyous Mother’s Day gift for pregnant rescue cat

Happy and healthy kittens are a joy - but life could have turned out very differently for this gorgeous foursome.

Born on Mother's Day in Blue Cross care, Pedro, Pascal, Penelope and Percy were rescued from having a cold and lonely start to life.

Mum Peggy was a stray with no place to call home. And with a litter of kittens on the way, she was thankfully brought to Blue Cross Southampton at the end of February.

Riddled with fleas, dirty and 'tiny', Peggy needed care and attention before she could begin her new life as a mum.

Just two weeks after coming into Blue Cross care, the new mum welcomed her adorable litter of four newborn kittens on Mother's Day.

The vulnerable new family got all the care they needed from our team in the early days, with three-year-old Peggy getting plenty of support when she needed it most.

Regular meals four times each day meant Peggy could stay healthy and focus on producing enough milk to feed her tiny kittens.

It’s hard to imagine the lengths she would have had to go to in order to find enough food as a stray needing to feed her newborns.

Struggling

“Peggy was really struggling and shut down when she first came to Blue Cross,” explains Jo Newcombe, Pet Welfare Assistant at Blue Cross Southampton.

“She was shy and not really confident. But about a week before she gave birth she had a bit of a turnaround and was more sociable and became very affectionate.

“All the volunteers loved her because she was so sweet. Peggy was quite tiny so we were very surprised when she had four kittens.”

The first days after Peggy gave birth were chance for her to really bond with her newborn babies, so our team made sure to give the new mum the space she needed.

It was important not to introduce too many different smells, in case Peggy rejected the kittens.

“The first week was really about going in and checking on Peggy, as well as weighing the kittens every couple of days to make sure they are all getting the same amount of milk,” continues Jo.

“When we found she wanted our attention, we’d sit really close to her so she didn’t feel she needed to leave her kittens.

“They are quite vulnerable when they are tiny so we don’t want too many people in bringing different smells in as she might reject them.”

Once the crucial first week had passed, Peggy and her kittens could head to a Blue Cross foster home to grow in confidence and size.

Being in a foster home meant the little family had plenty of space to explore and get lots of socialising, ready for when they were big enough to head off to handpicked new homes.

Little tabbies Penelope and Pedro, as well as their siblings silver tabby Percy and gorgeous grey Pascal, loved nothing more than rolling around, playing and curling up for naptime together.

Foster care

Experienced foster carers Hannah Dalton and daughter Sarah have spent more than two years sharing their home with Blue Cross cats and kittens – and dedicating their time to making sure the pets have a great foundation for going to a new home.

“We’ve really enjoyed having them,” says Sarah, 20, who is a university student and has helped foster around 25 cats, including three litters of kittens from birth.

“Peggy licks them throughout the day to keep them clean and for bonding as they are becoming more independent and spending more time away from her.

“Each litter of kittens we’ve fostered, they’ve got more confident as we’ve got more confident.”

Vet checks made sure that Peggy and her kittens are all healthy, and they received routine care including vaccinations, microchipping and flea and worming treatment as part of their journey with Blue Cross.

This positive start to life from Blue Cross helped set them up for their future as loved pets.

And after they were old enough to venture into the big wide world, all the kittens and mum Peggy found loving new homes across Hampshire.

Can you volunteer as a Blue Cross pet foster carer?