Not a happy ending for rescued serval kitten
The kitten, Faith, died early last Saturday morning, resulting in a heartbroken team whose members were all rooting for her survival.
A serval kitten’s short-lived and heartbreaking journey with the Wild and Free Rehabilitation Centre started on June 22 when director of the centre, Deirdré Joubert, received a call saying the kitten was in desperate need of help.
Joubert said the animal, named Faith, was picked up in an informal settlement in Waterval Boven and was emaciated and severely dehydrated.
“With no sign of a mom nearby and the kitten clearly in rough shape, we knew we had to get to her as quickly as we could. I started making phone calls to all volunteers and contacts in Waterval Boven.
“Rozaan Bekker, one of our volunteers in Machadodorp, arranged with a security company to collect the kitten from a member of the public who had picked her up. Meanwhile, Eward Doubell, our volunteer in Mbombela, rushed to Machadodorp to collect the critter and sped her to our vets in Mbombela.”
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Drs Ivan Kotze and André Burger of Nelspruit Animal Hospital examined her and were worried. They mentioned that she may not make it through the night. She could hardly lift her head.
“The next morning we were greeted by a completely different cat! Although not fully out of the woods yet, we were overjoyed that she not only made it through the night, but was showing signs of improvement. The vet and I had our reservations, but we were quietly optimistic.”
She stayed with Kotze for the next few days. Unfortunately, the excitement was short-lived. By Thursday her condition had deteriorated.
Although she picked up 400 grams in weight, her tiny body simply could not recover from the ordeal it had been through.
Faith died early last Saturday morning, resulting in a heartbroken team whose members were all rooting for her survival.
“We got to her too late. Our team was devastated, but at least we tried. There will be a next time, many, many more next times. And we will keep on fighting to save these precious animals.”
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Joubert gave a big thank you to Kotze and Burger who never gave up and looked after her 24/7, and to Doubell and Bekker who arranged Faith’s pickup and transport.
“We can never express how grateful we are for our amazing team of volunteers and veterinarians who take our calls no matter what time of day or night. And although we sometimes lose a battle or two and cry in despair, we will persevere as the one life saved makes it all worthwhile again,” said Joubert.
