Nation.Cymru staff
A kitten who survived against all odds despite being dumped with his three siblings in a plastic bag by the side of a road is looking for a home.
Marmite is the sole survivor from the litter of four kittens who were found at the beginning of August by a member of public whose dog sniffed out the bag as they walked beside a wooded area in Caerphilly. The kittens were so recently born they still had their placentas attached.
Now 11-weeks-old Marmite is safely out of danger and in the care of Cats Protection Weston-Super-Mare & District. However, he and his one black-and-white and two all-black siblings had very little chance of surviving when they were first found even though they received urgent specialised vet care.
They were carefully hand-reared by experienced volunteer fosterers at Cats Protection Gwent and then again at Weston-Super-Mare, where they continued their round-the-clock care.
Lynda Mears, Coordinator for Cats Protection Weston-Super-Mare & District says: “I was shocked when Marmite and his siblings arrived from our Gwent branch, they were so small and so fragile – it was impossible to believe somebody had discarded them so cruelly like rubbish.
“It was a miracle they were still alive at all and they needed constant attention. Kittens that age cannot maintain their own body temperature, they are deaf and blind, they cannot walk.
“These hadn’t had the benefit of antibodies from their mother’s milk and they had been outside with no protection, everything was stacked against them.
“Two of the black kittens faded and died despite every effort to save them, then the little black-and-white kitten had developed significant, painful eye deformities making the kindest option to put her to sleep. This was a harrowing case and yet little Marmite survived.”
After a weeks-long battle against the worst start in life, Marmite has gone from strength to strength. He is now a playful, fun-loving kitten in need of a home of his own.
According to findings from the National Folklore Survey by Sheffield Hallam University only 21.6% of men and 31.7% of women believe that a black cat is lucky and yet Marmite could be seen to prove those believers right.
Mears added: “Marmite is incredibly special and really proves that black cats can be lucky. He is now a happy, confident and incredibly playful kitten. He loves nothing more than greeting everyone who comes into his room and will chase strings and play with ping-pong balls all day long.
“He didn’t have any siblings or a mother to teach him how to play gently so can get a little carried away with play-fighting, we’d therefore like to find him a home without young children, but whoever adopts him will have a loveable, lucky addition to their family.”
Cats Protection has long-championed black cats, having set up National Black Cat Day in 2011 to raise awareness that black and black-and-white cats at its centres took a week longer than those of other colours to be adopted, now it takes just two days longer.
Anyone wishing to send a gift of kitten food, a puzzle feeder or toy for Marmite may do so by visiting this website.
To enquire about offering Marmite a home or to find out more about Cats Protection Weston Super Mare & District here.
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