A 13-year-old girl walking through a park in Corpus Christi, Texas, stumbled upon a tragic scene. It was April 30th, 2018 and a young feral Siamese cat had just given birth to 4 kittens. When the new family was discovered, mama cat had lost a lot of blood, was in shock and unresponsive.
Four helpless newborn kittens meowed next to her.
Photo courtesy of: Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers
The very brave and wise girl contacted adults immediately. All the felines were rushed to the emergency veterinarian.
Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers, an independent group of rescuers in the area, stepped in to help the mama cat.
They help bridge the gap between street rescues and foster homes. Prioritizing medical cases, neonatal kittens and cats in harms way, this situation was one they sadly see often. It was a desperate struggle trying to save the beautiful and damaged mama.
Photo courtesy of: Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers
Her body temperature was only 94 degrees. The norm is 99.5-102.5. With the amount of blood she was hemorrhaging, she was anemic. Her platelet count was so low that without an emergency blood transfusion, she would die within hours. She was only 10 months old.
The good news was that she tested negative for FIV & Feline Leukemia. This would give her a fighting chance at surviving the tragic circumstances.
Devastatingly, 3 of the 4 kittens passed away.
While dealing with the news of the loss of the kittens, they received the estimate of mama cats medical expenses.
To keep her alive, it would cost the donation-based organization at least $1000.00! In one post on their Facebook page, they honestly laid out exactly what these types of groups experience.
“As I sit here writing this post an amazing group of women are discussing whether or not they can save her or pay their mortgages this month & that is a very stressful situation for all.”
The needy mama cat won the debate with little resistance. They named her Esperanza, the Spanish word for “hope”. Her blood transfusion was a success and she and her remaining kitten made it through the first night.
Photo courtesy of: Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers
Additional blood testing would be done as soon as she was completely stable. Her temperature had risen too much, leaving her fighting a fever. Fortunately, she was responding to antibiotics.
“The staff at Oso Creek Emergency Vet Hospital here in Corpus Christi absolutely love her & say there’s not a feral bone in her body. She’s apparently quite chatty (must be the Siamese in her!) & grooming herself—all good signs!’
Sadly, her solo kitten did not survive through the day.
“He passed away quietly this afternoon. We are all heartbroken over this loss.”
Photo courtesy of: Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers
“If somebody would have spayed mama Esperanza, this brutal suffering never would have happened. PLEASE spay & neuter your pets & any outdoor cats you feed. Do it for Esperanza.”
The following day, her blood work looked good and she was cleared for release.
It is important to remember that Esperanza JUST A KITTEN herself! The birth almost killed her. She was too small and vulnerable to sustain the trauma of giving birth. Her body did not even produce milk to feed her babies, had they survived.
This is all too common with young pregnant mama cats.
Photo courtesy of: Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers
THIS IS WHY SPAYING & NEUTERING AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE IS SO IMPORTANT!
She was taken into medical foster care by Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers.
When she is well enough, she will be spayed and placed up for adoption. The trauma expenses from the complications were tallied at a whopping $2,112! Thankfully they have amazing supporters that donate through their PayPal.
Compare this to a few hundred…or even as low as $20 during spay/neuter clinics.
I think the choice is obvious.
Don’t risk your cats life, or your budget, on chance.
Photo courtesy of: Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers
Only a couple of days after the life-saving procedure, Esperanza was already feeling well enough to be her sassy self.
She’d been on a bit of a hunger strike since leaving the emergency clinic. Her foster mom, Dorella, had attempted to entice her with several different brands of high quality cat food. No interest.
But sometimes street cats develop a bad diet being on the streets. You eat whatever you find.
“We tried offering her some table food to get something into her belly & she scarfed it right up! Apparently Esperanza is more in love with a quesadilla tonight than her Royal Canin!”
View this post on Instagram
Obviously they wouldn’t continue to feed her human food, but it helped her trust them as caregivers that first night.
Another couple of days, and it was an absolute GLOWING kitten they found blossoming within Esperanza.
She had bounced back from the trauma better than anyone expected and was flourishing in foster care.
Photo courtesy of: Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers
Dorella reported that she did remain stubborn at meal time though.
“She’s a bit of a picky eater, but every cat has their quirks!”
On May 19th, mama cat Esperanza was ready to take the next step in her journey.
She was healing from her spay surgery and set off for the Austin Siamese Rescue, Inc., in Austin, Texas. A volunteer was making the 3.5 hour drive to bring the felines to the special breed rescue center.
Photo courtesy of: Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers
Esperanza, another stray mama with her 7 kittens, 4 kittens pulled from Animal Control and a 16-year-old surrendered cat about to be euthanized THAT day, made the trip.
“This is how we save lives! We work as a team & we coordinate with other rescues in the bigger cities to get animals safe.”
“Our city has a staggering stray problem which means our municipal shelters are overcrowded & perfectly healthy cats/kittens are set to be euthanized daily.”
Photo courtesy of: Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers
On July 21st, the Austin Siamese Rescue was happy to announce that she’d found a furever home.
Seeing the smile on her new family’s faces, we know she’ll be loved and cared for.
Photo courtesy of: Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers
Not to mention the pure contentment on Esperanza’s adorable face!
Photo courtesy of: Coastal Bend Cat Rescuers
Perhaps this mama cat will even have the chance to experience some kitten-like joy finally! After being refused that happiness in her early life, she now has the chance at a well deserved happy ending.
REMEMBER: ADOPT, DON’T SHOP; FOSTERING SAVES LIVES & SPAY AND NEUTER!
Related Story: Unwanted Litter Includes Kittens Born With Rare Disease; Foster Mom Steps In and Takes Entire Family!
Related Story: Chicago Cat Cafe And Volunteer Community Pull Together To Save 8 Newborn Kittens
Esperanza is such an inspirational kitty! She is gorgeous too, she will make someone a wonderful pet.
Isn’t this an amazing miracle, that this young girl found Esperanza just in time to save her life, and that she knew who to tell and what to do?
Bravo to this resolute young lady! ♥
It’s difficult to comprehend a beautiful Siamese cat being a feral. I’m SO glad Esperanza has a loving furrever home now, but I SO wanted to take her home myself. It’s heartbreaking knowing this kind of situation can totally be avoided with responsible, common-sense behaviour by humans.