Taranaki Animal Protection Trust

One April Friday night, a member of the public posted a desperate plea for help after they found a kitten that had an awful lice/flea infestation & was so boney they were afraid it was near death.

SPCA was unable to help until Monday but they weren’t sure it would last that long. Our South Taranaki team stepped up and a fosterer rushed out to pick the kitten up & took him straight back for urgent care. He was syringe fed electrolytes every two hours & spoon-fed pureed kitten food. He was so dehydrated he struggled to eat. The fosterer named him Coal.

Coal survived the night & was whisked off to the Vets4Pets the next morning. The vet confirmed that if he hadn’t been picked up the night before he would have died – Monday was too far away to get the attention he required.

Our fosterer posted Coals story on the TAPT facebook page and the public generously donated approx. $300 for his care. He required hospitalisation for 3 days. He treated for fleas/worms/lice, and tested for FIV, FELV & Parvo. He was put on a drip due to his dehydration & had chalky brittle teeth removed - a result of malnourishment. When he got ‘home’ he needed to gain weight to get him up to the weight he should have been – this took some time, but the fosterer was able to watch the tiny hopeless bundle they collected grow & get stronger every day.

In June Coal was advertised for adoption as an awkward but cute little monkey used to children and dogs. At the end of June Coal went to his furever home ❤️