This Orphaned Kitten Was Brought Back From The Brink, and When Her Fur Started Growing Back, Everyone Was Surprised
Some rescue stories start with a miracle, and this one began with two tiny kittens fighting to survive. At ACCT Philly, a shelter in Philadelphia, volunteers stepped in when orphaned siblings arrived severely malnourished and in urgent need of care.
Shauna, one of the shelter volunteers, opened her home to the pair, but the weaker kitten, Loki, died within 24 hours. That left Nebula, his sister, to keep going on her own, even though she was barely hanging on.
Then Nebula started doing something nobody expected, and it changed everything about how she looked.
It turns out Nebula was five weeks old and weighed only about 227 grams, which is the healthy weight for a two-week-old kitten. It got worse as she didn't want to eat at all and had no appetite.
Shauna had to syringe-feed her for about four days, and she was really worried because the kitten was so thin.
She and her brother were orphaned at such a young age, but when she lost Loki, she felt incredibly lonely. One day, Shauna put the food in front of her and was getting ready to syringe-feed her. She literally dived into it and started nursing it.
She would 'nurse' her wet food for comfort. By 'nurse,' I mean she would shove her whole face and upper body into the food and try suckling on it.
Nebula didn't chew, bite, or even suck on her food like normal kittens would; she would just nurse it and end up covering herself with the food, and Shauna had to clean her up after every meal.
She was very sick and weak, so Shauna decided to keep her in a pouch in her hoodie so that she could stay warm and comforted at all times. This led to Nebula always wanting to be with someone.
At first, she would only eat on her own when Shauna held her on her lap and petted her the whole time.
Later, she just did it all the time. Shauna bathed her constantly.
Even though Shauna bathed her after every meal, the food caused her fur to fall out around her mouth. When Shauna noticed the hair loss, she got her to eat dry food and cut out the wet food completely.
That is how the little one eventually learned to chew her food instead of comforting it, but something surprising happened then. That's when the fur started growing back in grey.
It also reminds us of the man who found 40 starving kitten eyes after two boxes were ditched in his yard.
Shauna isn't quite sure why this happened, but only time will tell if her fur will return to its original color, which is black. Her new fur feels like the rest of her fur. It gives her such a striking and unique look.
Thankfully, Nebula survived her ordeal and is now a happy and playful kitten! She is extremely active and loves to run around and play. She went from being on death's door when Shauna got her at five weeks old to being absolutely fearless.
The other great thing about her is that she loves the other kitties that her foster mom cares for. She has been playing with Edie and Sybil through their pen. She's a little too big and rough for them, but in a couple of weeks, they will all be housed together.
Nebula is now eight weeks old and weighs a healthy two pounds. She is fun, playful, and so loving! She can't wait to go to her forever home.
She has a ton of energy now, and she runs around like a little tornado attacking random objects. She is absolutely adorable. Now she's so chunky and active. It's amazing how far she has come.
And if you want more “save the kittens” chaos, read about the stray cat that guided a stranger to her vulnerable babies.
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