Dumped kitten is hailed a ‘miracle' by Fareham rescuers after surviving two weeks in the cold

Volunteers at Cats Protection Fareham say helpless Libby ‘used at least one of her nine lives’ to endure the chill before they rescued her on Sunday. 

The black kitten – found cold, injured, hungry and underweight – was one of five dumped near Bishop’s Waltham earlier this month. 

She was unknowingly left behind after her four siblings were brought to safety first but after a follow-up call Cats Protection sprung into action. 

Speaking of the initial rescue the charity's Fareham Branch co-coordinator, Lorri Seymour, said: ‘It was after 8pm and in the middle of nowhere, so it was very dark and scary – there’s just fields and a narrow lane so we only just got the car down there.

‘Members of the public had managed to catch two kittens and we used traps with food inside to catch two others – it took a couple of hours but the kittens were really hungry so they were eventually tempted inside.

‘The lady who called us said she’d seen five kittens, but there was no sign of the fifth.

‘We waited as long as we could, but we needed to get the other kittens checked over – it was an awful dilemma.’ 

By 1am Lorri and fellow volunteer Trudi Farrow had taken the rescued animals to safety – but they remained concerned there was another kitten who needed help. 

Against all the odds, the caller who raised the alarm initially contacted Cats Protection again to say she had seen a black kitten down the same country lane. 

‘Trudi, her husband Mark and I headed straight back to the lane and, thankfully, this time we managed to find and catch the remaining kitten,’ said Lorri.

‘It was a miracle Libby was still alive and it was so cold out there I don’t think she would have made it through another night. She must have been terrified.’

Lorri has been caring for the first four kittens at home despite her partner being allergic to cats. 

Meanwhile a volunteer fosterer is caring for Libby, feeding her a teaspoon of food every hour.

It is thought the first four rescues may actually be similar-aged kittens from another litter. 

All five however have been seen by vets at Heathside Veterinary Surgery, with full health checks, flea and worm treatments and a blood test and antibiotics for some of the kittens.

Because they were found near Bishop’s Waltham volunteers named all the kittens after bishops and famous people named Bishop. 

They are called Lily, after US author Lily Bishop; Becket, after Thomas Becket; Desmond, after Desmond Tutu; Ramsey, after Lord Ramsey; and Libby, after Libby Lane. 

Lorri said: ‘The number of cats being dumped is a major problem for us because it can take weeks and sometimes hundreds of pounds to nurse just one unfortunate cat back to health. 

‘We seem to be living in a throwaway society where some people think nothing of just dumping cats.

‘I urge owners to get their cats neutered as they are such prolific breeders. Just one unneutered cat can produce up to 18 offspring in a year so neutering will help to prevent more unwanted kittens like these in the future.’

Lily, Becket, Desmond and Ramsey were thought to be about 12 weeks old when found and have been adopted. 

There is already a waiting list to adopt Libby once she becomes well enough to leave her rescuers.