Gutter kitties already on second life

Three kittens owe their lives to the care and love of the Pilkington family.

Five weeks ago, the siblings were found abandoned, helpless, covered in parasites and their own waste, and they weighed less than 400 grams.

Now, the rambunctious trio are happy and healthy and ready to start their new lives.

Shelley Pilkington was on a walk in her Bayview neighbourhood when she saw a Bunnings Warehouse bag under a bush that ‘‘didn’t seem right’’.

‘‘I opened it up and there were these little cats,’’ she says.

Too young to be adopted, Pilkington agreed to the be their foster mum until they grew a little older.

Pilkington says she owes so much to the help and assistance from local cat shelter Gutter Kitties, who came within the hour to assess the kittens.

Gutter Kitties is Auckland’s largest no-kill cat rescue, dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of adult street cats, especially in the North Shore and surrounding areas.

Coordinator Tracey Hammond says the way these kittens were found makes her ‘‘blood boil’’ and her ‘‘heart break’’.

Abandoning these ‘‘adorable lives’’ is against the law, cruel, and needless.

‘‘Every animal deserves compassion, acceptance, and a chance, and we are tirelessly committed to making that possible,’’ she says.

Gutter Kitties help feed, deparasite, microchip and desex animals, before they go to permanent homes.

’’Desexing your cats and encouraging other people to do so is the only way to stop this from happening again,’’ Hammond says.

The Pilkington children, Joel and Alyssa and friend Damien Hetet have enjoyed looking after the new additions, naming them Spike, Casper and Dauntless.

Dauntless will stay at the Pilkingtons’, but his brother and sister will go to loving homes.

Pilkington says with Pest-Free Kaipatiki in full swing, Dauntless will be de-sexed, have a bell and will have a curfew.

‘‘We don’t want unwanted cats being dumped, or running wild in our bushes killing our native birds.’’

Kitten season usually runs through to February.

For help with found kittens contact the nearest cat rescue or veterinarian.

PHOTO: LAINE MOGER/FAIRFAX NZ When Dauntless was found, he should have still been feeding off his mum.