Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to introduce an exceptionally special cat.

Please welcome Pepper!

Pepper was found in a back garden in an old roll of carpet and with her were five tiny kittens about four days old. The family whose garden she was in scooped up the family and took them all inside as it was meant to rain that night.

The next day the lady contacted Goole RSPCA and two of our volunteers went out to collect Mum and babies. It was discovered that Peppers kittens were four boys and a little girl. Everyone was in good health and Pepper was very hungry!

On the same day, one of the volunteers who had collected Pepper was at the vets with a different cat. She was told that a workman had called the Practice to say that he had found a tiny kitten on a building site and could he bring it to them. When this kitten arrived at the vets it was thought to be only two or three days old.

In very special circumstances Mummy cats can take on kittens that are not their own so long as they are of a similar age to her own. The volunteer took the tiny new kitten home to see if Pepper would take this newbie, a girl, as one of her own. With a few bated breaths the Fosterer introduced the new kitten to Pepper and her kittens like a superstar, Pepper immediately started licking the new kitten and accepted her as part of her family.

Peppers kittens are called Parker, Paul, Peter, Paddy and Posy. The extra kitten is called Quilla (Spanish name for the Goddess of the Moon).

All six kittens are putting on weight, growing and thriving. Pepper is an exceptionally good Mum to them. She keeps them warm and clean and fills their tums with her milk. As they grow older, they will move to eating meat and then, once they are old enough (around 9 weeks), they will begin their vaccination program and be ready to go to their forever homes. Each kitten will have had a package of treatments costing between £150-250 by the time they leave Foster Care. They will remain with their Fosterer until they are 9-12 weeks old. Once the kittens are fully weaned, Pepper will then be spayed and she can be rehomed as well. All of them will be health checked and a microchip implanted.

In this circumstance, the family have expressed an interest in rehoming not only Pepper but also one of her kittens and they have begun their application process in anticipation.

We have had record numbers of cats and kittens this year, currently we have 43 in branch. We have bills, vet fees and have to care for each and every one that comes into branch.

The basic costs for each cat is:

Vaccinations are £60 (2 per cat)

Snap blood test £36 (every adult)

Each consult/health check £30 (every cat, multiple times)

Flea/worm £5 (every cat, multiple times)

Spay £80 (females over 2kg)

Castrate £60 (males over 2kg)

Chip when not under sedation £20 (kittens)

Please could you help us cover some vet fees for Pepper and her little Peppercorns.

Thankyou