But we found no other kittens and no mum. He is very young and only just out of milk. So it was lucky he survived. This was made possible with his bold and strong personality. Determined to survive.
Sadly, that was what we believed. Some days later for our most terrible surprise, he passed away.
The veterinary literature reports intimidating mortality rates for orphaned kittens up to 12 weeks of age, ranging from 15% to 40%. Deaths are rarely exhaustively investigated, but may be attributed to birth defects, trauma, infections and nutritional problems.
What to say... :(