Tiny kittens Oak and his sister Maple arrived at Battersea from another rescue centre at just three days old. All alone without a mother to feed them, Battersea stepped in to help hand rear the newborn kittens.
Quick action was critical to ensure the young kittens would get the round-the-clock care required for them to survive.
After a few days under the expert care of the Battersea Clinic team, the kittens were stable enough to leave clinic to go on foster with veterinary nurse Michaela Vinales. Michaela took on the extremely important, yet challenging task of bottle-feeding the small and fragile kittens, every three and a half hours, day and night.
Thanks to Michaela’s dedication, Oak and Maple grew in strength, gained weight and quickly became inseparable. The vulnerable kittens repaid their foster carer with lots of appreciative snuggles and were soon showing off their individual characters. Maple became a very people focused kitten, always leading the way, with brother Oak following closely behind.
Foster carer Michaela explained:
“When Oak and Maple arrived at only three days old, I jumped at the chance to hand rear them. They were such a pleasure to raise. Their personalities blossomed, with Oak proving to be a little softy, always wanting a cuddle, and Maple was precious, playing with her toys and wrestling her brother, despite being half his size. Both were extremely social kittens and loved a fuss. Maple was sadly the little runt so took time to gain weight and wean onto solid food, but she’s a fighter and got there in the end. I’m so pleased they got rehomed together and are now thriving in their forever home.”
The adorable pair found a loving family home, but without Battersea’s care and expertise, things could have been very different for Oak and Maple.
