18/05/15
Today dear little Sapphire arrived at Axhayes. She was nothing but a tiny grey blob wrapped
in a green blanket. She was brought to us
by a gardener who had saved her life –
luckily he saw her on the grass when he was strimming. She was helpless and all alone, and the only
thing to do was to hand-rear her.
On arrival, she looked as though she couldn’t have been more
than a few days old, but she was in good condition and had a full belly. Her eyes were closed, and she could just
about crawl along. Later that day I
weighed her – she was just 150g.
When the working day was done and I had her at home, I
picked her up – a wriggling grey ball – and tried to feed her using special
kitten milk replacement in a bottle. I
heated the milk to body temperature to make it more appetizing for her, but, at
first she refused to take it, and no wonder – it was nothing like her mum! Eventually, she got the idea and drank some -
I was very relieved! Then I tried to
stimulate her to go to the toilet, and after that she was tired so I popped her
back into the tiny kitten bed that someone had kindly donated, covered her with
a blanket and let her rest. I would need
to feed her every three hours or so, so I set my alarm and went to bed.
19/05/15
I fed her through the night, and although she never cried
unless she knew I was there, she was always awake when my alarm went off. (She
continued to be a quiet kitten on journeys to and from work in the car, and
when in her little put-up pen, and later her pen at Axhayes, until she knew you
were there…and then she squealed at about 100 decibels until she was fed, and
then she would purr her little raggedy purr that sounded somewhere between a
diesel car and a woodpecker pecking.) As
for her movement, she was crawling along on her belly, using her limbs in a
swimming kind of motion rather than a walking one. Her eyes were firmly closed still, and she
was absolutely helpless – all she could do was suckle the bottle.
21/05/12
This morning at four a.m., Saffy opened her eyes! It was a wonderful moment for me, cradling
her in my arms, looking into those perfect dark blue eyes. They’d been opening a bit at the corners
yesterday, and I was expecting them to stay that way for a little while, so I
was amazed when they opened fully. They wouldn’t be fully functioning straight
away – that would take a few more days. I also felt quite proud, being the
first person she saw. I weighed her
today and she was 190g – 40 more than when she came in.
01/06/15
Unfortunately, due to my cat being upset by the squeaking,
pooing machine that was Saffy, I could no longer take her home after work so
Phil, our deputy, and Mark, our manager took her home in the evenings. I still fed her and looked after her during
working -hours, and today she made me proud again, by sitting up like a big
kitten. Her little legs by now are
beginning to take more of her weight, and her movements are more like walking
rather than swimming. She’s looking more like a little cat than a
helpless kitten now, and her tiny teeth are growing.
11/06/15
Another proud day – Saffy used her litter tray! It was remarkable because whereas most
kittens would watch the behaviour of their mother, Saffy had no point of
reference – we just put a tray with gravel litter in, and she started
scratching around in it, and then just used it!
This was a happy day for everyone, as trying to stimulate a
kitten to go to the toilet with a piece of damp cotton wool is no-one’s
favourite job, and is far from glamorous!
Also, little Saffy had gone from having very loose faeces to being
constipated, and we had been giving her a bit of lactulose to help her go, and
on two occasions she had to have an enema, poor thing!.
She is walking about and can get quite a speed up, and loves to purr and
roll over to have her tummy tickled.
She’s also becoming quiet boisterous, and loves to play-fight with you
as she would a litter mate. Her incisors
and canine teeth are through, and she has a sharp bite though it’s not enough
to break the skin.
Another mile-stone has been reached – today Saffy ate some
weaning biscuits! She still has her
bottle and has been taking about 30ml at a time, but now, at about four weeks
old, we can start weaning her onto solid food.
It also means that Phil, who’s done the lion’s share of rearing can get some sleep! Saffy’s ears and tail have lengthened, and
she thrashes her tail around as she strides about looking for things to bat or
pounce upon. Her markings are becoming
clearer too and she has quite a spotty belly.
Her eyes are now more turquoise than dark blue. She’s turning into a little diva and we love
her to bits!
17/06/15
Today Saffy’s mischievous little eyes look greener and
greyer. She’s growing up, and has taken
to launching herself at you and crawling up your neck. If she’s not doing that, she’s play-fighting. Talk about trouble!
30/06/15
The people who rescued Saffy came to visit her! They were delighted at how cute and
big she had become, if surprised by how bitey she was!
02/07/15
Today Saffy is eight weeks old and she had her first
vaccination. Where has the time gone?!
09/07/15
I can’t believe that Saffy is now big enough to be
neutered! She’s grown up so fast!
21/07/15
I stayed and played with Sapphire (who now weighs 1.23kg)
for an hour after work to say goodbye to her.
She has found a home in Exeter with some lovely people and two other cats
and a dog to make friends with, and I wouldn’t see her again. A bitter-sweet day!
23/07/15
Today Saffy had her second vaccination, completing the
course, and went off home with her new family.
We will miss her very much, especially Phil, whose house became her
temporary home, and even though he could do without being beaten up by her
every evening! We are so happy and proud
that the little helpless wriggling thing has thrived and grown into a beautiful
kitten with a lovely home and family of her own.
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