When we are united, we are unbeatable!

This story has been written by Bren who runs Dinky Paws Kitten/Cat Rescue ❤️

This is a heart wrenching story of four kittens and their Momma…. We were notified that ‘meowing’ sounds were coming from an abandoned transit van in a local refuse depot in Solihull. Workers there, feed several stray cats but they had noticed one cat was jumping in and out of this van’s open window. Momma’s B and C went along, not sure what they were facing or what they would find.

We were mortified to find that the van was literally stacked floor to ceiling with rubbish, discarded sofas, a freezer, rubble, mattresses and the only access was an open front side window. Without hesitation, Momma B climbed through the window and began the painstaking process of handing out rubbish bit by bit to Momma C, each of us terrified we would cause an avalanche inside the van and kill the inhabitants we were trying to locate and rescue. We could hear occasional noises which confirmed there were kittens in there but we had no idea how many there were or how tiny they might still be.

We saw a little face appear and soon managed to free one small black and white kitten, aged around 5-6 weeks. Giving us hope and encouragement we continued the search through piles and piles of rubbish and debris. Sadly, we found one tiny baby that had not made it past a week or so old but could still hear others alive inside.

It took over an hour, but we managed to catch two more kittens (and Momma cat), each kitten being terrified and shying away from the sun having never seen daylight before and never having breathed fresh air. Despite horrendous living conditions, the kittens were well fed and other than being filthy they each had beautiful semi-long-haired coats. As we checked them over, we noticed that one little girl’s eyes were dreadfully sore, swollen, sticky and ulcerated and she needed vat attention immediately.

Working with another rescue colleague, we took the kitten (now called Pearl the purrosaurus) to the vet, fearing that she was completely blind. The vet explained that her eyes and eyelids had not developed properly due to having been in the dark her whole life and she was going to need major specialist plastic surgery to save her sight. In the meantime, she needed intensive medication for her eyes to clear infection and to make her comfortable. The condition that Pearl has now been diagnosed with is Bilateral Entropion and also a condition where the eyeballs are too small for the eye socket

We contacted our friends and colleagues in other rescues to see if we could work together to help this little girl who had survived horrendous conditions and find a way to raise enough money to save her sight. With their help we were able to identify a specialist plastic surgeon who can carry out the surgery and have even found someone that would offer her a forever home after she has recovered. We desperately need to raise £800 - £1000 to save Pearls sight and are putting a plea out to all our friends and followers for help. With your help so far, we have saved so many cats and kittens from unthinkable fates by raising money for amputations, bullet removals, specialist surgeries and so much more.

We cannot thank Lorraine, Mark and Mel (Redditch Cat Rescue) enough for all their continued support and this rescue has shown how when we all come together, we can achieve so much for these defenceless furbabies.