Three maggot-infested kittens covered in diarrhoea have been found dumped on a street in Wembley.
Te four-week old emaciated trio were abandoned in a box with their six-month-old sibling and found by a cyclist who brought them into the Mayhew Aminal Home in Trenmar Gardens, Kensal Green.
Staff at the charity shelter named the triplets Cherry, Raspberry and Blackcurrant and the older kitten Apricot and went straight to work to nurse them back to help.
While Apricot appeared to be in a decent condition and a good weight, the triplets were completely emaciated, stiff from dehydration, covered in diarrhoea and all had sore wounds that were badly infected and crawling with maggots.
Gillian Notton, The Mayhew’s head of animal welfare, said: “The wounds must have been incredibly painful for the poor kittens. We suspect that they got bitten by another animal, maybe a rat, which later got infected by flies, who laid maggots in the wounds.”
“We often see lots of kittens coming into our Home at this time of year, though we do get them all year round, and this just highlights how important it is to get your cat neutered. We offer affordable and low cost neutering for cats and dogs at our vet clinic, so there is no excuse for not getting your pet neutered.”
The kittens’ wounds have started to heal nicely and Cherry, Raspberry and Blackcurrant are coming out of their shells to show off their playful and cheeky sides.
Georgina Disney, The Mayhew’s cat welfare coordinator, said: “We can’t imagine how terrifying it must have been for these kittens to be abandoned in a box. With the hot weather lately and the kittens being so dehydrated, it’s worrying to think that they could have died if they hadn’t been found.”
“Being four weeks old, the kittens should be with their mother, but she was nowhere to be found. We believe that Apricot is a sibling of the younger kittens from an older litter.”
‘Unfortunately we see a lot of unwanted and dumped cats, some born to stray mums, who have been abandoned. At The Mayhew we help hundreds of people in crisis situations every year, and we wish whoever dumped the kittens had come to us or another cat shelter instead of abandoning them on the streets.”
Once the kittens are ready to be neutered they will be available for adoption.
If you are interested in adopting a cat please visit www.themayhew.org or call 020 8962 8000.
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