A tiny kitten was found abandoned along with his sister immediately after birth. They were ice-cold, wet and lifeless.
Hannah Shaw from Kitten Lady (based in Washington DC) rushed to save the feline siblings.
Hannah was informed about two tiny kittens found at an art studio a few blocks away. The owner of the art studio was shocked when she discovered them under an oil painting.
"She feeds community cats, and sometimes they come into her art studio. That day, a young cat came in and gave birth underneath an oil painting and left behind two newborn kittens still wet from birth," Hannah shared with Love Meow.
"When we arrived they were four hours old, frozen, stiff, wet, and so lifeless that we thought one was dead."
After an hour of warming and cleaning the kittens, she brought life back into those tiny bodies. They began to move their little legs, though still very weak.
"They were in horrible shape, stiff little icicles, who had never gotten a single drop of their mother's milk. It's not safe to feed a newborn kitten until they are warmed up and even then you have to do so, so carefully, one drop at a time."
The kittens spent their first night inside an incubator ICU unit so they could feel comfortable and warm.
The feline babies were so tiny that they didn't know how to nurse so Hannah began tube feeding them every couple of hours.
She diluted the kitten formula heavily with Pedialyte and added bene-bac to help with their digestion. Soon after that, the kittens started to put on weight.
Despite her very best efforts, the little sister, Mink, lost her battle by the second day of life. Her brother, Badger, hung in there and kept fighting to live.
"The mama cat has been trapped and sterilized. She was so small she wasn't even lactating," Hannah said.
"80% of kittens born each year are born to outdoor community cats. Spay and neuter your cats, and get active for Trap-Neuter-Return for the cats in your community to help prevent incidents like this."
Today, Baby Badger is 10 days old.
"He's a preemie, so he's developing a little slower than your average ten day old kitten, but he's doubled in weight and I expect his eyes to open up any day now," Hannah told Love Meow.
"I'm completely enamored with this little guy. He's doing great, but is definitely a late bloomer. Slow and steady wins the race, so no rush here!"
Little Badger is tiny but mighty!
When the kittens were rescued...
Little Badger the fighter!
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