A tiny, unremarkable kitten turned up outside the village grocery shop one chilly morning, as if shed just wandered there or had been abandoned by someone. The little ball of fluffan anxious, shivering lasskept tucking in her paws and trembling from the cold and damp. Whenever she let out a plaintive meow, passersby didnt give her a second glance. Her little face was covered in scabs, her eyes were barely visible slits, and the fur around her neck and ears was patchy at best. However shed ended up there, it was a truly sorry sight.
The shop assistants let the poor thing inside for a bit of warmth and even dabbed her with drops to ward off fleas, but none of it did much good. The kitten still showed up every day at the shop right on cue, confidently begging to be let in and curling up in anyones arms she could manage.
As the days grew colder, it became obvious that this shivering girlwho was already trembling in the autumn chillwould never survive the hard winter. One of the shop assistants remembered that over the summer wed taken in a kitten that had been left outside this very same shop, and so she got in touch with us for help again.
When we drove over to collect the kitten, she danced around our feet and the carrier, as if she somehow understood that this was her last chance not to be left behind in the cold. She stood up on her hind legs, wrapped her tail around our hands, and did everything she possibly could to win us over.
It was obvious from the photos that the poor kitten had mange. Fortunately, it was caught early and easily treated. A course of spot-on treatmentusing products like Stronghold or Advocatesoon made a real difference.
Once she settled into the warmth and care of her foster home, the kitten purred like a small engine and clung to us with endless affection. The first couple of days, all she did was eat and sleep, alternating between the two without a care.
Her name suggested itself almost at oncePoppy. She really was just like a funny little poppy seed: small, lumpy, a bit uneven, yet utterly endearing. Yet that bedraggled state didnt last long. After two rounds of treatment, a big-eyed and rather pretty young lady emerged.
The fur on her ears and paws still needs time to grow back, but shes already booked in to be spayed, and shes well on her way to becoming a healthy, cherished, and charming little cat.
