An Archway cat-owner found himself in a “purrfect” breeding storm after one unexpected litter rapidly escalated and left him looking after 17 cats at once.
Harrow’s Cats Protection Homing Centre was alerted to the situation by the man, who did not wish to be named, after he was out of his depth and overrun with kittens at home.
It started when his original, unneutered cat Oscar gave birth to four kittens and a young male in that litter mated with his own mother and sister, who both delivered their own litters.
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In around 21 weeks from the initial birth, the man was looking after 17 cats at once.
Harrow Homing Centre manager, Lydia Sawyer, said: “When we got the kittens back to the centre we realised that one litter was only four weeks old and the other just five weeks. That’s when the true picture became clear.”
She said some of the kittens were anaemic and others had heart murmurs, probably caused by a bad flea infestation.
One kitten had to be rushed to the vet: “He wasn’t breathing very well and so we rushed him to the vet, who said that the kitten, who we named Damien, was unlikely to survive.
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“But he still had some fight in him so we decided to give him a chance. He is still a bit rattly and has some mucus on his chest but he is making rapid improvements. He’s a little fighter.”
One mum and her two-week-old kittens went to a fosterer with Cats Protection’s Chiltern Branch, the four-week-old kittens went to north London and the five-week-old kittens were taken to Harrow
Cats Protection has urged all owners to get their pets neutered, vaccinated and microchipped - as Oscar now has been.
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