WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTURBING.
A tiny kitten has been given a second chance after nearly perishing from severe burns to his face and body.
Rescued from near the site of a bonfire when the kitten was taken for urgent veterinary care, he immediately stole hearts. He stole one heart in particular: that of his vet nurse, Jenni Gretton, who became his adoptive mom.
Sharing an update with The Epoch Times on Oct. 31, Gretton said that the kitten has undergone a successful, much-needed eye surgery to improve his quality of life.
But this little feline wasn’t giving up, and neither was his vet nurse, whose son named the kitten “Fire Cat.”
“He smelled of burnt hair because he was singed,” Gretton, 32, told Birmingham Live. “All of his fur was charred and his ears and whiskers were burnt.”
The skin on the kitten’s face was also burnt, his eyes were singed, and his lips were burnt down to the teeth. The Pride team had never seen a kitten in a worse state.
Gretton said things got worse before they got better, as the weak, listless kitten’s damaged skin started to peel.
“It was difficult to know whether to carry on with treatment or not,” Gretton told the Birmingham-based newspaper.
The team knew there was a high risk of infection, but they “wanted to give him a chance,” so they placed their tiny patient on fluids and pain relief and made a plan for surgery.
The kitten made it through. After dressing his wounds, Gretton hatched a plan to cover the mounting medical bills. She launched a “plea for help” on an online fundraiser website and amassed 2,000 pounds (US$2,644) in mere hours.
But members of the general public weren’t the only ones to be smitten by the tiny patient.
After nobody came forward to claim him, Gretton took “Fire Cat” home to her husband, Phil, and young son, Jude, for all the love and care he needed to recover from his ordeal. The kitten fit in with his new playmates immediately, Cavalier crossbreed dogs Harvey and Ringo.
“We still don’t know who his owners were, what happened to him, or whether it was malicious or not,” the vet nurse said. “He is really happy and really bright. He is just like a normal kitten except that he looks different.”
“Just a little cat,” reads the bio, “overcoming adversity with love and bravery.”
