A day in the life of C4C

Last week C4C had an email from Andrea, a holidaymaker who had been staying at a hotel in San Antonio bay. Andrea was very concerned about a feral mother cat and her kitten who she had seen on a regular basis around the pool area of the Hotel. She explained that they both looked very underweight and the kitten was scratching an awful lot.

So C4C despatched a volunteer to visit the hotel and investigate the situation. Having got permission from the 'cat loving' Hotel Director the hunt was on for the kitten and mother. One concern, however, was that the kitten was still very young and so very dependent on it's mother. The mother was described by the Hotel staff as extremely protective of the kitten and also very wary of humans so she rarely came into the pool area. She tended to sit on the wall or in a tree watching the kitten. This could make trapping her quite difficult.

This was a potential problem; we couldn't take the mother without the kitten and we didn't want her to fret if we took the kitten to the vets without the mother.

In the end the decision was made quickly when we spotted the hungry kitten.
As the mother was not around and the kitten needed to be checked over by a vet it was decided to take it quickly to the vet whilst leaving a trap, under constant observation, in case the mother returned.

Within a couple of hours the kitten had been checked over, de-flea'd, had the usual vitamin injection and antibiotic all C4C rescues have and was able to be released back in the hotel before 'mum' knew he'd gone!

Now - the next problem!
The kitten was underweight and needed feeding on a regular basis. Stuart, who managed the pool bar (where they both hung out during the day), was happy to feed them each day and supply fresh water.
The Hotel Director was more than happy to give permission for this to happen and so a hasty 'cat cafe' was set up and food provided to the Hotel so that both mum and kitten could feed in peace each day.

A return trip to the hotel by C4C confirmed all was well...and although we'd just missed the kitten at the 'cat cafe' the Hotel Director and staff confirmed he was looking much healthier.

C4C will return later in the year to try and catch 'mum' so she can be neutered and returned to the Hotel which is a lovely safe environment for her and kitten to live, as well as being full of caring staff.

Andrea very kindly wrote to the Hotel Director thanking him for his co-operation which is so important to C4C when they are operating on private land. It is also refreshing to find Hotel people who care about feral cats and are happy to have them around.

Thanks Andrea! And thanks also to Toni, the Hotel Director and Stuart!