posted
on Monday, June 24, 2024
in
News
We'd never seen so many fleas on such tiny kittens.
When the ARL rescue team arrived, we found 21 cats and kittens living in a filthy, bug-infested Des Moines home. The cats were in bad shape, but it was the 14 kittens – many just days old – that were suffering the most. Fleas crawled through their fur and across their little faces. Their thin bodies were dangerously infested. There was no time to waste.
We rushed the kittens and mamas to our Miracle Medical Ward and began warming the babies in incubators. Then kitten by kitten we began removing the hundreds of fleas from their tiny bodies. Dead fleas covered the bottom of our sinks as our team worked into the evening. We gave the kittens fluids and other supportive care, warmed them again in the incubators then placed them back with their mothers in our Kitten Nursery to give them the best possible chance of survival.
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Sadly, help did not come soon enough for three of the smallest ones. Two were in such a fragile state when they arrived that even the fleas had abandoned them – it was a haunting sight on an already heartbreaking day. Despite our veterinary team’s best efforts, we were unable to save them. It was too late.
The surviving kittens are incredibly fragile and have a long way to go to return to health. They’re receiving extra bottle feedings and monitoring from our staff, but your support right now would mean the world to them.
Your gift to our Miracle Medical Fund today will help these kittens and the other cats from this rescue recover and start their new lives. Your monthly gift will help these babies now and allow us to care for the hundreds of others like them that continue to come through our doors this kitten season, many with special needs just like these little ones.
Kittens in crisis need you now. Please give today to be the miracle they need.
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P.S.: When you give today or join our Loyal Friends Club monthly giving program, you’ll be automatically enrolled to receive updates on these cats and kittens.