MITTENS

Mittens’ fosterer Sarah:

We had a call asking us to collect a 4-week-old kitten from the Ark vets.

We hadn't seen her yet, but Claudia (my daughter) said she would like the kitten to be called Mittens. When we got there, the little kitten had 2 white paws, so Mittens was her name.

She had been found on her own on the road and was very scared. She just wanted to be cuddled.  She would cry if she was put down. The first night was going to be tricky. I stayed up as late as possible, so I gave her the last feed at 1am. I had a little pen that I put in the bathroom, made her cosy, I left the radio on with calming classical music, and the light stayed on all night. She slept until 6am.

Mittens loved her cuddles but as time went by, she got used to being in her pen. She loved to be cosy, and we would often find her tucking herself in to the blanket.

She became very playful as she grew older but took playing a bit far and would attack, especially going for the face. We knew she'd need some time to train her, and she would need a very special, quiet home.

We would have to choose her home carefully.

We had no other kittens her age at first, so she had no one to play with. But then 4 little kittens arrived who were about a week younger than her. They were in a separate pen to Mittens’, but she could see them.  We tried to wean Mittens off the formula as she was getting older, but she would watch the 4 younger kittens drinking their milk and she would howl. It was Christmas, so we gave in and gave her a bit of milk as well. This was a habit that she wasn't going to grow out of easily, so we just gave her a small bit each night before bed.

When the 4 little kittens were old enough, we started introducing playtime. Mittens loved it but was a bit rough so we only had them together, supervised, for short periods. Eventually, they were all in together and Mittens was very happy.

When the time came for Mittens to find her forever home, we knew that she would need a quiet and understanding owner.

It was fate that brought Megan to us and she was just perfect.  Megan came to visit and decided to take Phoebe as well, one of the four. Phoebe was going to be called Tigger, but Mittens kept her name.

I've stayed in touch with Megan and love hearing about Mittens and Tigger. I am so happy to know that they found the perfect home😊

Mittens’ adopter Megan:

When I came across Mittens’ profile on KLAWS, I immediately fell in love with her and knew that I had to apply to adopt her. I also applied to adopt Tigger (formerly Phoebe) for company for Mittens, to make the process less daunting for her. Thankfully, my application for both was successful and shortly afterwards I was putting the two little fluffballs into the carrier to bring them home.

I knew Mittens was special and needed a bit of work with socialising and realising that she was safe. When she was first brought home, she would swat at you if you came near, run and hide under furniture, and take some time to coax out with treats.

Thankfully, Tigger, being the curious and confident kitten she is, helped to speed this process along and bring Mittens out of her shell. Quite quickly, Mittens realised that she was in a safe environment and started showing her true colours – her days would be filled with chasing Tigger around the house, stuffing her face with food and kitten milk, chirping when she entered a room to announce she’s here and napping on the top cushion of the cat tree.

Most surprisingly, Mittens became a giant cuddler. She’s the type to curl up on your lap wherever you’re sitting and tuck herself into the bed under the duvet with just her head poking out at night but with a paw touching you so she can know that you’re nearby.

Everyone Mittens meets compliments how friendly she is. When Mittens was being neutered, even the vet said that they’ve never met such an affectionate and loving kitten, and that when they were checking on her coming around after the procedure she’d be there purring while they were rubbing her head, which was unheard of.

Seeing the way Mittens is now and how happy, content and comfortable she is, makes all the effort at the start worth it, with special credit due to Sarah for her patience with Mittens at the beginning. The scared, spitting and frightened kitten is a distant memory😊