At the time of Black Cat Awareness Day in October 2011, Coal was a little black six week old kitten.  All kittens in this story have now been rehomed.

His story is quite amazing, he and his three brothers are incredibly lucky to be alive, even more so for Coal because he weighed just 90 grams at an estimated age of two weeks old when he came into our care. Imagine the weight of a standard bar of Galaxy chocolate weighs 135 grams, Coal weighed less than that and he was half the size of his brothers. The story starts when our Welfare Officers were at Moor Cottage vets in the midst of dealing with a multi-cat household with over 30 un-neutered cats.  This was just one of the many trips back and forth to the vets.  The Receptionist mentioned in passing that a man had brought in a dead cat, found in a back garden on a trampoline. 

It was lactating, but was thought to have been near the end of lactation with grown kittens hopefully secure in a
household.  The Welfare Officers asked the Receptionist to contact the man to find out if they could have his details
to make contact with him.  This was initially to provide some flyers to distribute around the area where the cat was
found to find an owner and ensure the kittens were cared for.

It transpired that the cat was found in a known road where there are a few multi-cat households so the Welfare
Officers decided to take a trip out the next evening to see if they could find out where the cat came from.  To cut
a long story short, they asked if they could look around the garden where the cat was found and on making their
way through a very unkempt and overgrown garden, they thought they heard a tiny mew coming from the garden
next door.  It ended up with having to beg two burly men (one being frightened of spiders!) to dig out a huge pile
of garden waste that was propping up a fence.  The men were not impressed by the Welfare Officer’s pleading
but when they also heard the mew of a kitten, they were on the case!

Four tiny kittens were found in a very awkward place, well hidden and behind the mass of rubbish and fence.  They
were very cold and hungry and the Welfare Officers immediately took them home, fed them and kept them warm. 
In fact they were fed every two hours day and night until they were able to go longer between feeds. 

As Coal was literally half the size of the other kittens, he was given extra attention.  He wasn’t really expected to
survive being so tiny compared to the others.  He was always the first to have his formula and although he remained
the smallest, he grew stronger and stronger.

Coal certainly makes up in manner what he lacks in size!  At six weeks old the kittens are now the usual little lovable
monsters that climb up your legs and sink their claws and teeth into anything they can.  Coal loves attention and will
always prefer to sleep on you rather than his bed.  His fur seems a little less dense in places and his nose looks like
it turns up at certain angles.  He is certainly the character of the litter.

Coal and his brother Fluke, who is a beautiful grey, have a home waiting for them as soon as they are old enough
to receive their vaccinations and leave the care of CP.  A family were visiting to be introduced to some other kittens
and because these kittens were only a couple of weeks old, they were in a carrier in the living room and the family
noticed and asked to see them.  Of course they immediately fell in love with the unusual grey kitten but also wanted
to offer “the runt” a home as well.  Being so very young and vulnerable we could not promise that they would survive,
but the family were prepared to take their chances.  The family will be visiting the kittens now that they are past the
six week stage and they are eager to take them home with them as soon as they can (after their first vaccination at
nine weeks of age). 

The other two kittens Ace and Sam (Ace having a white asymmetrical mark on his face and Sam having a white
symmetrical mark) are still looking for a loving home. Hand reared kittens are the most loving, laid back cats you
could wish for.  We are sure that Ace and Sam will soon find that perfect home.

 
Coal being centre of attention as usual with his brothers trying to get a turn!