FIVE feral kittens have been given a new lease of life after they were rescued by the Blue Cross.

In August 2019, a mum cat and her kittens were brought into the Blue Cross rehoming centre in Southampton by a member of the public who was concerned for their welfare.

The cat family were living in her neighbour’s garden but were evidently not her neighbours’ cats.

When she realised what was going on, she trapped them and brought them into centre.

Because of their poor experience with people, they were very nervous when they arrived at the centre; they were all very shut down and were completely unhandleable.

This hugely differed to their mother, whom the centre team named Saskia, who enjoyed lots of fuss and affection.

The kittens were given sweet names, Jellytot, Jellybean, Skittle, Pastel and Starburst, and were taken to the charity’s kitten unit.

When they were eventually at the point of being able to rehome, they were advertised on the website in pairs based on careful analysis of their relationships with each other up until that point.

Both pairs went home after three months of being with Blue Cross.

They were lucky enough to find owners who were willing to be patient with them and understanding that they may never be particularly ‘cuddly cats’.

After a week and a half in their new home, Starburst and Pastel were settling well. Starburst loved playtime and would purr constantly during it. They could even give her a little fuss.

Pastel was taking a little longer to come around but was happy to be hand fed treats.

A recent update on Jellybean (now Radar) and Skittle (now Smudge) showed that they were spending a lot of time together and growing in confidence.

Although not a lap cat, Jellybean was enjoying lots of fuss. Skittle would enjoy a stroke providing he couldn’t see the hand coming towards him, otherwise he would run away.

Both playful but still nervous of new people and unknown noises.

The owners have been very patient in bringing out their confidence slowly.