Land Rover team ensures kittens' safety after discovery in bin store
They were found in Exeter
A discovery of kittens, in a Land Rover bin store, surprised team members at the luxury car brand's Exeter site, before they joined forces to ensure the kittens reached safety.
Seven kittens were found alone in a box, inside a bin store, at Vertu Land Rover Exeter, on Matford Way, when Vehicle Technician, Mike Dixon, moved a stack of cardboard and spotted the young litter.
Mike explained: "As I moved the pile of cardboard that had been sheltering the kittens, the mum shot out and I spotted the kittens huddled together quietly inside a box. We'd seen the mum in the area for a few weeks before but thought nothing of it, we certainly didn't realise she'd brought her kittens in for safety."
Thankfully Mike's colleague, Workshop Controller, Beth Cupper, has a degree in Animal Conservation and had also worked at a number of zoos. Together, they gently relocated the kittens out of the disintegrated box into a sturdier one, as a make-shift nesting box and returned them to the bin store area, alerting the rest of the team to stay away.
Beth said: "I knew there was a chance the kittens' mother would return if their scent was still present, so we ripped up bits of the old box and used them to insulate the new one. We also got some strong-smelling tuna, to try and tempt mum back to the bin store. We kept the area really quiet and undisturbed, but sadly five hours later she still hadn't returned, so I knew they would need professional care."
Beth took the young siblings to St David's Veterinary Hospital, quietly playing Taylor Swift, as they travelled "to make sure they grow up with good music taste." The team at St David's hand-reared the kittens, who were found to be around three to four weeks old. They provided round-the-clock care, until they were old enough to begin transitioning to solid foods, at which point they were entrusted to Cats Protection Devon Cat Centre for ongoing TLC.
At the centre, employees and volunteers carried on teaching the kittens all their mother would have taught them, including toileting manners, playing, hunting and socialising, to ensure they will not be frightened by the world around them and will grow into confident young cats.
There are three female and four male kittens, who have all been named after characters from The Sound of Music. They are grey tabbies Bridget, Von Trapp and Marta, as well as tabbies Gretal, Fred, Louis and Kurt.
Centre manager, Mark Magee, said: "The kittens were very lucky to be found when they were. We have no way of knowing whether their mother gave birth to the kittens on site, or moved them there for safety, but we are hopeful that she will return and if so we can work with the Vertu Land Rover Exeter team to humanely trap her and ensure she is neutered, perhaps even re-homed if appropriate.
"The kittens' mother did a great job with them and they were all in good health, other than needing worming. She couldn't have known that the workshop team would show her young such kindness, nor that Beth would have a background in animal care and ensure they were safe, however we all feel very grateful that she did as they are a lively, friendly litter of kittens and will make brilliant family companions."
The centre relies solely on donations to fund its work and has therefore set up a £1000 JustGiving appeal for anyone wishing to help cover the costs of the kittens' care: www.justgiving.com/page/cats-protection-devon-cat-centre-landroverkittens Any funds raised over the target will be used for other cats at the centre.
Now 10 weeks old, the siblings will soon be ready for re-homing and, like all Cats Protection cats, will arrive in their new home neutered, microchipped, vaccinated, up to date with flea and worm treatments, with four weeks of free PetPlan insurance available to their owners.
Mike is hoping to adopt two of the kittens, having set his heart on them when he spotted them beneath the cardboard, and the other kittens will be featured on www.cats.org.uk/devon when they are ready for new homes.