Oshakati kitten survives against all the odds

WHILE attending the Ongwediva Trade Fair recently, Gia and Toni Simoes of Windhoek decided to take a stroll through Oshakati, back to their guesthouse.

They walked past several dumpsters on open pieces of land between houses. At one of these dumpsters they came across three two-week-old kittens abandoned in a dirty cardboard box on top of a heap of rubbish. These three kittens were in desperate need of help as they were starving, dehydrated, cold and filthy. The Simoes couple bought baby formula at a pharmacy, as there is no such thing as kitten milk available in Oshakati. Next, the little ones needed to get to a veterinarian in Windhoek as soon as possible.Gia was due to fly back to Windhoek that very evening and decided to take the three orphans with her, but unfortunately the Air Namibia staff was unsympathetic to her and the kittens’ plight. The ground crew did not permit the kittens entry unless a fee was paid and they were put into the cargo bay – this was not possible as they would have frozen to death.The Cat Protection Society (CPS) in Windhoek was then contacted and a car was dispatched early the next morning from Windhoek to Tsumeb in an effort to collect and save the kittens. Toni drove from Oshakati to Tsumeb to meet the CPS ladies and hand over the kittens, after which he returned to Oshakati.Sadly, two of the kittens died on their way to Windhoek. According to a veterinarian they had contracted bronchitis on the dump and were too weak to survive.The little ginger boy fought back, however, and he is now about six weeks old and getting stronger by the day. He is now being cared for by members of the CPS and has bonded with another survivor – a little female who is also the only survivor of a litter of three. She was found in the veld in Klein Windhoek with her two dead siblings. The CPS is looking for a home for the two kittens and it is preferable for them to be adopted together.The CPS looks after abandoned cats and kittens and finds new homes for them.They also sterilise feral cats to control feral cat populations in and around Windhoek and in other towns where their services are required. People wanting to assist the CPS with donations, or who can give a good home to the two survivors, can contact the CPS at 081 127 9501.