Sick cat cares for newborn kittens until rescue

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (FOX Carolina) - Acts of kindness and compassion come in all shapes and sizes.

One cat proved that to be true after caring for her litter of newborn kittens while being sick and emaciated, according to the Esther Neonatal Kitten Alliance. The cat, named Baklava, and her litter were brought to the Kitten Alliance after being rescued.

Director Andee Bingham says that Baklava and her newborns “were in the worst condition.”

Baklava weighed less than four pounds when she arrived at the Kitten Alliance.

Bingham recalled Baklava’s condition when she was initially brought in.

“When I lifted her out of the carrier I could feel every bone in her body. She was weak and very dehydrated. One of her kittens appeared pretty healthy, but the others were about half the size they should have been.”

The Kitten Alliance says that Baklava had “given all of herself to her babies.”

She began to eat on her own after about 36 hours of care, according to a release.

According to the Kitten Alliance, only one of Baklava’s kittens survived.

The surviving newborn, named Empenada, is now being cared for in a foster home where he is “thriving,” the release says.

Bingham says this situation highlights the need for spaying cats.

“Baklava should be the poster child for why spaying young cats is so important. She was so young and so small when she became pregnant. There’s no scenario in which she could have had a healthy pregnancy. And in fact, her pregnancy nearly killed her.”