This article contains graphic images that may be disturbing to some readers.
Five burned kittens were rescued after a house fire in Port Alberni last week and taken to the BC SPCA for treatment.
On June 20th, a fire,believed to be human caused, broke out around 800 feet behind the BC SPCA’s Alberni-Clayoquot animal centre in the Rogers Creek gully in Port Alberni.
As firefighters were doing sweeps of the scene, five kittens with varying degrees of burns were found and transported to the BC SPCA.
“The response from fire crews in Port Alberni was outstanding,” says Sam Sattar, manager of the BC SPCA’s Alberni-Clayoquot animal centre.
“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.”
According to the BC SPCA, one of the kittens escaped with only a small amount of singed fur, but the remaining kittens have burns on their paws, tails, ears and noses.
One of the kittens, the most severe of the injuries, is suffering from burns to his face, abdomen, mouth, eyelids, tail and rectum.
All of the kittens were immediately given pain medication, injections to prevent infection and a special cream to treat the burns.
Four of the five kittens were also prescribed eye medication for their burnt eyelashes and were checked for eye irritation and damage.
Once the kittens are ready, they’ll be moved from veterinarian care to a foster home as they continue to heal. They’ll eventually be scheduled for spay and neuter surgeries as well.
“They are all set up with special litter that won’t stick to their paws or cause them discomfort when they step on it,” said Sattar.
Sattar added that three of the kittens step very gingerly when they walk, but the kitten with the most severe burns doesn’t want to walk yet because of the discomfort.
And despite the hardship, everyone at the SPCA has been shocked by their resilience, even saying that the kittens have been 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,” says Sattar.
“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 who was least injured will be available for adoption shortly. The other kittens will be available for adoption in mid-July.
