AssetID: 54826324
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Cornwall Kittens Tragically Orphaned By Mum's Efforts To Get Them To Safety
Caption: A litter of tiny kittens were brought to safety by their mum shortly before she was killed in a road accident. The mum brought three kittens to a family home in Truro, Cornwall before the accident, which left one kitten to miraculously find his own way to his siblings. The Tamblyn family from Truro was shocked when a stray cat wandered into their home carrying a kitten and left after depositing him on their kitchen floor. When she returned 24 hours later with another kitten, Jane Tamblyn rang Cats Protection Cornwall Cat Centre for advice. Jane says: “We live at the top of Chacewater Hill between treacherous crossings. Kerley crossing in particular is a very dangerous stretch of road these days. The mother cat was very brave, bringing the kittens over it and down a hundred-yard track to us.” The team from the centre in Carnon Downs established that the kittens were around five or six weeks old and the mother was taking the kittens somewhere safe to wean them. Concerned there may be more kittens, centre staff agreed with Jane, 67, and husband Dave, 76, that the family would keep them for a couple of days in their sheltered barbecue area which would allow the mother easy access to the kittens and to deliver other kittens if needed. The mother did arrive with a third kitten, but tragedy struck on the day the Tamblyns were due to transport the family of cats to the charity. Jane explains: “On the day we were going to bring them to the centre, the mother cat was outside the house having some food. She then suddenly went up the lane - maybe she was looking for the last kitten, we don’t know - but later that morning my youngest son found she had been killed on the road that goes past our house. He rushed in and told my husband, Dave, who caringly took her off the road and buried her in the apple orchard where we’ve buried our other family pets. We all really loved that cat and we’d hoped we could have her back once the kittens were old enough.” The Tamblyns took the three orphan kittens to the centre but shockingly, a few days later a crying fourth kitten arrived at their back door. Jane explains: “The last kitten to be found was very lucky. Dave woke me after my night shift, at about 1pm, to tell me thought he had seen a black kitten on the mat outside the barbecue area. We went to look but found nothing, so I put food out and opened up the area where the other kittens had been. A little while later we crept back and the food was gone. We looked around and spotted two frightened little eyes looking out of the igloo cat basket where his brothers and sisters had been. “Dave and I were so thrilled to find him. The mother bringing them across those roads really was a miracle but we also couldn’t believe how brave he must have been and that he had the instinct to survive and find us. The kittens were all so lucky to be saved.” Jane and Dave placed the kitten in their conservatory and then rang the centre so that he could be reunited with the rest of his litter. The kittens are now all eating solid food, have received a vet check which showed them to be in excellent health and are being socialised with the cat life-skills that their mother would have taught them. Now around seven weeks old, the two black and white male kittens have been named Badger and Squirrel, the male tabby-and-white kitten is called Rabbit and the female tortoiseshell is called Fox. The centre refers to them affectionately as The Wildlife Kittens. Ciaran Brookes-Whyte, Rehoming and Welfare Assistant at the centre, says: “How Squirrel found his way is a mystery. Perhaps he was able to trace his mother and siblings’ scent because she would have created quite a strong scent profile going back and forth but we really cannot be sure. “It is so deeply sad that their mother went to such lengths to get her kittens to safety only to be killed on the road. We feel extremely proud to be able to continue her amazing work. She had brought them up beautifully and they are all thriving. “We are all very fond of The Wildlife Kittens and although we wish their mother could see them safe and sound, she saved them from life as strays struggling for food and shelter - perhaps the greatest gift she could give.” Each of the kittens will need a period of socialisation before they can be homed and the centre has created a Just Giving appeal for anyone who would like to help contribute towards their care costs: https://bit.ly/WildlifeKittens
Keywords: kittens,cats,animals,nature,pets,feaure,photo,video
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