The BC SPCA says it has been impressed by the resilience of five kittens who suffered serious burns in a fire on Vancouver Island last week.
The fire — believed to be human-caused — broke out on June 20, just a few hundred metres from the organization’s facility in Port Alberni.
Firefighters doing sweeps of the area later found the young cats with burns of varying severity, who were brought to the SPCA for treatment.
“They did sweeps of the area over two days finding one kitten and then two more shortly afterwards on the first day and then two more on a sweep the following day,” Alberni-Clayoquot animal centre manager Sam Sattar said.
“Because the fire happened so close to the animal centre, we were able to rush them to an emergency veterinary hospital and get them treatment quickly.”
The kittens have been named Kenna, kai, Afi, Egan and Phoenix.
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One kitten escaped with only singed fur, but the other four have burns on their paws, tails, ears and noses. One kitten suffered burns to its face, abdomen, mouth, eyelids, tail and rectum.
The kittens were given emergency care including subcutaneous fluids, pain medication and antibiotics, along with topical burn cream and eye medication.
They will remain under veterinary and foster care for several weeks.
The ordeal has been traumatic for the young animals. Three of them are clearly uncomfortable on their paws, while a fourth was injured severely enough that it does not want to walk at all.
But despite the injuries, the kittens have proven to be fighters, the SPCA said — all of them purring through their treatment.
“It is unbelievable, even on the way to the veterinary hospital prior to any supportive care or pain management, the healthiest of the kittens were playing and acting like kittens,” Sattar said.
“The ones with the more serious injuries have just wanted to sleep, heal and cuddle with each other on a plush blanket that doesn’t cause their burns any discomfort.”
The kitten that escaped serious injury will soon be ready for adoption, while the others will be spayed and neutered and put up for adoption when they have recovered.
Meanwhile, the BC SPCA is appealing for donations to help cover the animals’ medical costs, with contributions up to $3,500 being matched by Petsecure Pet Health Insurance.