Everyone’s heard of the 12 Days of Christmas, but what about the 12 kittens of Christmas?

On 1 December 2020, a policeman arrived on our doorstep with a box of 12 tiny kittens. They had been found all alone at a local pool, underweight with an intestinal tract infection and flea infestation. Some kittens also had mild eye discharge and a sneeze. Being so small at around 4 weeks old, it was important we act fast to help the kittens, so our vet team prescribed anti-parasitic medication, eye drops and probiotics to put their tummies, eyes and skin at ease.

To ensure the kittens could be given the one-on-one attention they needed, they were sent into foster homes where they were medicated daily until their ailments were no more. Thanks to our wonderful donors, the kittens all received lots toys, blankets and beds, as well as high quality cat litter kindly provided by our sponsor Chandler Cat Litter.

Once settled, the kittens began to grow and gain weight. But for one little kitten named Noelle, her recovery wasn’t as straight forward. A few weeks after Noelle’s arrival, we received a call from her foster carer Robyn – Noelle was experiencing a hyperglycaemic attack and was lethargic and stopped eating. This is a very common condition in kittens where their blood sugar drops. Quick treatment is often the difference between life and death. Luckily, Robyn is an experienced and skilled foster carer who worked with our Foster Care Coordinator to save Noelle. Robyn administered sugar drops to the young kitten in regular intervals, and within 2.5 hours, Noelle’s sugar levels had stabilised. Robyn tells us, “it was a Christmas miracle.”

Noelle is now happy, healthy, and a little bit famous! Noelle, Oliver and Robyn appeared on Sunrise Weather with Sam Mac in December to represent the 12 kittens of Christmas, and they have since been very popular kitties.

The 12 kittens of Christmas are now available for adoption from foster care and our adoption partner PETstock. They’re looking for an indoor lifestyle and a family who can commit to giving them a home for life. Each kitten has their own unique personality:

• Mia is an independent and quiet girl who loves to play 
• Andrew is a curious boy who loves his food 
• Rusty is very playful and loves to explore
• Panda is confident, independent and likes to explore; she is great with cats, dogs and people
• Bear is a shy little guy who loves human attention and reassurance 
• Daisy is an independent girl who loves to wrestle; when she’s had enough zoomies she likes to flop onto her humans and fall asleep
• Bonnie (bonded with Clyde) is a quiet girl who loves to have a good chat; she’s very keen on her food and has her affectionate moments
• Clyde (bonded with Bonnie) is a quiet, inquisitive guy who loves to hang out with his humans
• Noelle is confident, feisty and loves playing with feather and bell boys; she’s a lap cat and gives wonderful head bumps 
• Oliver has boundless energy and loves his food; his signature move is “the meerkat nuzzle” where he stands on his back legs and nuzzles your hand 
• Azrak (adopted) is playful and loves to bat around inanimate objects such as pens; he will sit on your shoulder 
• Wobey likes to be picked up and follow his humans around; he loves to climb and play with his feather toys

To learn more about each of the 12 kittens of Christmas, see their adoption profiles: https://sydneydogsandcatshome.org/adopt/*

* If a kitten is listed as available from a PETstock store, please contact the store to enquire about adoption.

Colleen was beside herself with joy when she found out her cat Leo had turned up at Sydney Dogs & Cats Home. It had been eight months since her family had seen him, so for Colleen “it didn’t seem real.”

In April, Colleen moved to a new house, transporting Leo in his cat carrier. When she let him out to explore the new place, he jumped into the garden and disappeared. Leo would normally come when he was called, so Colleen wandered around calling for him every time she went outside. About five days later Leo reappeared, hiding under the caravan, but when Colleen tried to retrieve him, he ran away. 

Since their old house was just down the road, Colleen visited regularly for six weeks searching for Leo, but he was no where to be found.

Then, eight months down the track, we contacted Colleen’s family with some surprising news. Leo had just arrived with a council ranger, having been picked up around Colleen’s old house. Luckily he was microchipped, making it easy for us to find his family.

As soon as Colleen heard the news, she jumped onto our website to make sure it was real. “There were a few tears,” she said. 

Since Leo has returned home, he’s been readjusting to family life, including having his feline sibling back. The first day he was very timid, but by nightfall, he was already rubbing against Colleen for attention. “We’re very happy to have him home,” Colleen said. 

As in Leo’s case, a microchip with contact details kept up-to-date is essential in helping to reunite lost pets with their owner, no matter how long they’ve been apart.  In NSW it is a legal requirement for cats and dogs to be microchipped by 12 weeks of age and to be registered on the NSW Pet Registry.

And remember always update your pet’s microchip details when you change address, phone number or email, or transfer them to a new owner. Microchip details can be changed by contacting the NSW Pet Registry.

Mr Darcy the senior Maltese arrived at the Home as a stray with an affliction on almost every inch of his body. Immediately, our vet team noticed he was underweight with gunky eyes, dirty ears, chipped teeth and matted fur. To make things even more challenging for Mr Darcy, he also appeared to be hard of hearing and vision impaired. Despite this, he was a very friendly boy.

It was clear My Darcy needed a great deal of attention to give him a much-deserved second chance at a comfortable life, so our vet team set some appointments and sent samples to pathology to help diagnose and resolve Mr Darcy’s long list of ailments.

These issues would have been causing Mr Darcy a great deal of pain, so our team got straight to work, administering anti-parasitic treatments, cleaning and clipping his fur and nails, flushing out his infected ears, doing a scale and polish on his few remaining teeth and prescribing medications to resolve his eye, ear, anal and skin conditions.

Scans and pathology results showed Mr Darcy suffered from:

• chronic skin disease (dermatitis)
• dry eye (inability to produce tears)
• chronic otitis (long-lasting ear infection)
• severe dental disease
• active chronic inflammation of his anal glands
• anaemia
• papillomas on his face (benign warts caused by canine papillomavirus)
• B1 Mitral Valve Disease (heart disease).

While in the Home’s care, Mr Darcy was given a Hill’s Science Diet consisting of wet food, which within a month had helped him gain much-needed weight, and recover from his anaemia.

Thanks to the help of his foster carer, who assisted with regular eye drops, ear medication, antibiotics and pain relief, Mr Darcy looked like new man just weeks after his arrival. While he still has some chronic conditions that sadly can’t be completely resolved, with proper care, he’s now enjoying a great quality of pain-free life. 

In foster care, Mr Darcy proved to be a very sweet dog with a love of food and human company, so combined with his friendly face and personality, he was a popular boy when he went up for adoption. But Mr Darcy also needed a very special home, with a very special family who could commit to monitoring and responding to his chronic health issues.

Luckily, it wasn’t long before the right family came along. Mr Darcy was adopted in December 2020 as a bright and comfortable senior, completely unrecognisable from the dirty Maltese who had arrived just six weeks prior.

As Sydney’s only charity pound and community facility, we rely on donations to give senior pets a second chance in life. Donate today to the Senior Pet Project to give pets like Mr Darcy the care and treatment they need to thrive in their twilight years.

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ABOUT THE SENIOR PET PROJECT

In its third year, our Senior Pet Project was started as an initiative not only to put a spotlight on golden oldies to help with their rehoming, but also to raise the funds required for their much needed veterinary care and often prolonged stay at the Home.

With your support we are looking to raise $50,000 to help fund the Senior Pet Project in the months ahead, enabling us to give the seniors entering our care a new leash on life.