Dying Kittens in Landfill Woodpile Tempted to Safety with Kippers
By Animals Correspondent
Four hungry, dying kittens have been saved from the dangers of a landfill site where they were discovered within a house-high woodpile and tempted to safety using kippers.
Staff at Westcombe Waste in Somerton reached out to Cats Protection Yeovil for assistance with feral cats at the waste management and recycling site on Somertonfield Road after they discovered two unwell kittens and rushed them to the vet.
The duo sadly did not survive but Rebecca Dawson, Coordinator for the volunteer-run local branch of the cat welfare charity, soon arrived to assist with the remaining cats, not expecting to find any more kittens.
She quickly set up two security cameras and humane traps which allow her to track and trap feral cats without causing unnecessary stress as they are wild in nature and highly fearful of humans.
Initially spotting purely adult cats, Rebecca prioritised vet care and new outdoor homes for two pregnant cats and one limping female cat named Stumpy, who was shockingly missing a paw.
It wasn’t until Rebecca returned for the next wave of cats, expecting to collect just healthy males in need of neutering, that a high-pitched meow caught her attention.
To Rebecca’s surprise, the tiny cries led her to a 7-8m pile of wood that was waiting to be sorted and four black-and-white kittens emerged.
She says: “I headed up the hill next to the woodpile armed with kippers to tempt the kittens out but at the top of the hill I panicked. Stretching out behind the pile was a water treatment pool with rubber protective sides, ideal for waste management but potentially deadly to curious kittens. I returned to the other side of the pile and flung kippers across the wood, hoping to guide them away from the pool and onto a bridge that I quickly made down from the pile.”
The kittens were too scared to venture out but Rebecca quickly recorded their frantic meows and played the sound from behind a large tyre where she remained out of sight.
With more kippers in a nearby trap, the bravest ringleader of the kittens, a small mainly white boy with black patches, now named Jack, led the quartet into the trap, but valiantly ran out to let them eat while he kept watch.
“I knew that was my only chance to get them, so I held my breath as Jack ran off but I played the recording again and thankfully his siblings’ recorded meows brought him back. He checked they were all safe and eventually joined them inside the trap for food and I had caught them at last using the remote control.”
The one female and three male kittens were around five to six weeks old, malnourished and riddled with fleas and worms. They were underweight at just 300g, the usual weight of a two-week-old kitten.
Jack, Jill, Skip and Marley, as they have been named, were all suffering from diarrhoea from the worms and their time outside. It was not certain they would survive and after two days in care feisty little Jack crashed, finally relaxing and letting his exhaustion take over.
Rebecca says: “We really weren’t sure Jack would make it. He'd been so brave and acted like the Mum for his siblings but was no more than a baby. After plenty of TLC and two weeks of specialist food, he’s now a lively, healthy kitten and all four love nothing more than playing together and making mischief.
“I’m so grateful to the lads on site and Sophie the manager, they have really worked with me to help the cats and we just have around four or five of the remaining male cats to trap and neuter. I think everyone was surprised that there were around 20 cats in total, they’d kept themselves well hidden!”
Jack, Jill, Skip and Marley’s details will be posted at www.cats.org.uk/yeovil when they are ready for adoption.
For anyone interested in joining the team at Cats Protection Yeovil, they are especially keen to hear from potential administration, fostering and driving volunteers. Please email nicola.parry@cats.org.uk for an informal chat or visit www.cats.org.uk/volunteeropportunities to apply.
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