Meet Spica, born 6th of April 2012

It's a sign! Both Maggie and I have a weakness for tabbies...

Spica holds a special place as s/he is the very first kitten officially rescued by Community Cats Network.  Spica came into our care as a new born kitten and her/his umbilical cord was still attached.  S/he was born in a garden in Ballincollig, but the mum got a fright as the lady of the house opened the coal bunker, where she was hiding with her kittens.  She moved them to another location, but seemed to have forgotten one behind.  The lady waited, but as the mum didn’t come back, she took the last kitten in. 

Spica's umbilical cord

As usual, these things happen at night and during the weekend.  Thankfully, we had some kitten formula in stock and drove over to Ballincollig to feed this tiny kitten.  As the lady’s lifestyle wouldn’t have enabled her to keep feeding the kitten, we took her/him with us. 

Meet Spica!

As we were driving back, we were trying to think of a name for this little one.  We wanted a name that would evoke a new beginning, a new life, and would be suitable for both a male or a female, but nothing nice could come to mind.  The Easter moon was full and Maggie was admiring Jupiter and the bright star next to it.  The bright star in question is called Spica and it became the name of Community Cats’ first kitten.

Camilla bottle-feeding Spica

We had only bottle-fed few-week old kittens, but sometimes you have no other choice but to learn and the internet now provides a great source of information.  However, neither Maggie nor I would have the time to look after such a young kitten for more than a couple of days and we had to find a fosterer.  Thus, the following day, we placed Spica in the care of Camilla, who had offered to help us whenever we’d need.  As she had looked after a three-week old kitten before, she was already familiar with a few things and Maggie explained the rest to her, giving her some instuctions and a chart, where the feeding times and the weight could be recorded. 

Tiny baby, but perfect weight for a new born 🙂

A kitten was born, a life was saved and a new group was born.

Spica is two weeks old and already a character!

Spica is doing really well.  S/he is putting on weight and behaving normally.  I went to visit her last week as s/he turned two weeks old and had the pleasure to feed her/him.  She is adorable.  So far, so good and we hope that Spica will grow up into a strong and healthy kitten thanks to the good care of Camilla and Alan, who are doing a fantastic job!

Sleep well Spica!

And here are a couple of videos for your enjoyment!