The Mother Load
Will this rain never end? Every now and then, above the roar of torrential rain, the crashing of thunder and the wails of terrified dogs, I hear the cries of our expanding nursery of kittens. September and October have seen an extraordinary increase in the number of expectant mums and entire families flooding into Villa Kitty. They’re found in all the usual places: frantic and scared in markets, sheltering and sodden in cartons, dodging feet and scooters on crowded paths and alleys.
Last week we found a trio of tiny kittens with their desperate mother, on the construction site next door. Thankfully the project manager drew our attention to their plight: that night brought the most violent thunderstorms I have ever experienced on Bali and the family would not have survived in a flimsy cardboard box.
They arrive on the back of bikes, left unannounced at the gate, carried in by compassionate tourists. They are tiny but their needs are huge. The mothers need extra nourishment, a quiet safe haven to nurse and the reassurance that they will not have their kittens snatched from them, taken and left to die. The babies, if they are with mothers, need to be kept warm and dry, away from other feline families, ready for the immunisations that will protect them from the viruses so dangerous for infants. If they arrive without a mother, they must be fed painstakingly with kitten milk, cleaned by hand, toileted and comforted by staff. And this around the clock.
We knew we were going to need more mother and baby rooms, but not this quickly! No pregnant mother or newborn kittens should be kept in cages, yet this is what we are having to do, so dire is our lack of shelter. We have the land to build three more mother’s rooms but we simply cannot wait while plans to build permanent structures are completed. We must act now before the overcrowding becomes the breeding ground for a viral pandemic, and to give young families the space and quiet essential for good health.
Today we have eight mothers and their kittens, one mother with nine kittens, not all hers, and another two expectant mothers are due to deliver very soon. Our nursery is heaving with the number of tiny kittens who need cages to keep them safe.
Can you help us by donating so that we might build the temporary bales to protect our mothers and babies?
We had not budgeted for this so we are urgently seeking your assistance. Please, so many mothers are found or brought when they are on the point of delivering their babies. We need to provide places for them to do this in privacy and comfort, not in a small cage. The frantic calls for help begin before sunrise and continue late into the evening.
Some of the frightened mothers are just kittens themselves, but their instinct to nurture their offspring is unwavering. Before bed, I walk the darkened rooms, watching the night staff cuddle the fearful, soothe the sleepless, and whisper into the warmth. Our space and resources are tight and constrained, but the love is limitless. The mother love is infinite.
Which brings me to Denox. Last week, we lost him. Denox was not a cat: he was a dear young man, a vet assistant, who had been with us since January when we opened the new Villa Kitty Foundation in Tegal Bingin Mas. Denox was kind, patient and compassionate. Our cats and staff adored him. He died in hospital after a motorbike accident just ten minutes from home. His family are our neighbours. I sat with his mother and sister at Denox’s bedside as his life faded before us. He was just 26. He is gone, but his mother will live with the grief forever. Her face, and that of his father: swollen, tearstained, broken. Infinite love turned to infinite pain.
Let Villa Kitty’s mothers know peace, not pain. Let’s give them dignity, safety, comfort and love. Your donation will build these bales quickly and efficiently. One of them will bear Denox’s name. Because of you, he will not be forgotten. Because of you, mother love will be honoured.
Every dollar counts. Please, donate now!
Thank you,
Elizabeth Henzell
Founder
Villa Kitty Foundation