Maryum Khan
The little miracle fur-baby.
These four adorable newborn kittens were found in someone’s backyard without their mother in sight. Which was already a piece of bad news for the rescuers and the kittens themselves. These kittens were extremely tiny and in very bad health conditions. They needed to be attended to immediately because they needed medical help. Unfortunately, the mama cat never came back for her kittens. So sad.
The resident reached out to Orphan Kitten Club immediately. It is a kitten rescue based in San Diego County, California. These adorable boys were part of a preemie litter fostered by FostersXYZ. “When I heard the kittens were just hours old and had been without a mom, I headed there straight away to pick them up,” Said Yige, Satellite Nursery Coordinator of Orphan Kitten Club. “They were found outside as preemies and their mom took off as soon as she gave birth.”
Meet Lestat and Laszlo, your famous two vampire kitten siblings with their adorable feline fangs and their fur color of a dark night. These cute little vampire kittens are full of love, light and joy so do not worry about them biting you. Their foster mother, Yige, named them inspired by fabrics. These two boys were known as Denim and Corduroy at first but now that they have become vampires, they were renamed Lestat and Laszlo. The Corduroy named kitten became Laszlo, he was named after the vampire Laszlo of FX’s What We Do in the Shadows. Denim kitten became Lestat in the honor of one of the most iconic figures in vampire lore. The journey to his forever home was a bit tough and difficult because of Lestat’s sickly beginnings but his brother Laszlo made sure he got there.
When a mother cat leaves behind her newborn kittens, it can mean death for the newborns. God had different plans for them as help came running towards them in a hurry. One of the members of Satellite Nursery Coordinators for Orphan Kitten Club, Yige knew these kittens were in dire emergencies and the next couple of days would mean everything in their struggle to live.
Every kitten needed medical help but compared to the rest of the litter, one of the kittens was exceptionally small and in serious trouble as he was clearly never tended by his mother at all because he was still covered in afterbirth. That kitten was weak, fragile and cold. Yige, the foster cat mom, described baby Denim later named Lestat to be “cold, limp and barely conscious.” Yige started looking after Lestat right away. She said, “I put him on a heating disk immediately and put my hands over his body to warm him up. When he started to become more alert after about 20 minutes, I felt safe enough to make the trip home. Warmth is the most important thing to a newborn kitten.”
Yige knew from the start that the adorable, dainty pint-sized kitten was a warrior and he will survive. after getting gunk wiped off his body and getting some food in his tiny belly, Denim began to perk up. That week was very tense, baby Denim was showing little signs of improvement in spite of life support measures and a feeding tube, which really worried Yige but she knew that he was still trying as hard as his tiny body would allow. Yige kept providing him with supportive care and did everything in her power to save the innocent kitten. “He was the toughest little fighter. During that first week, I stayed up with him every night because I was afraid that I would lose him if I went to sleep.” Yige told Love Meow.
The vet suspected that Denim had sepsis and an extreme reaction to infection which usually “is the number one cause of death in neonatal kittens.”
Yige explained, “Our vet suspects that he suffered sepsis, and he was tube-fed every 1-2 hours for the first week and on multiple meds and supportive care.”
“There were so many times where I thought he wasn’t going to make it but his body kept going miraculously.” Said Yige.
After endlessly tube-feeding and painstaking care, a few days later Denim started to gain weight visibly and it seems like he has found energy. Only six days into foster care, six very stressful and painful days later, Denim the little miracle kitten surpassed the 100-gram mark and fortunately, he was officially off life support.
As Denim grew older, they realized that parts of his coat started to change color which resembled that of a fever coat. “He was not born with a fever coat. He actually developed it due to being extremely sick his first week of life,” said Yige.
Luckily Denim was not alone. Even though he had Yige taking care of him 24/7 but he was also inseparable from one of his littermates throughout his recovery who was his biggest supporter. “Corduroy has been Denny’s unwavering protector since day one.” His brother Corduroy was also always keeping an eye out for his little brother Denim and turned up next to him as if to cheer him up, he cuddled with him and tried to comfort him. Whenever Denim was not feeling good, his brother would come to his rescue. “I braced myself for the worst every time Denim’s heart rate slowed down. I noticed that almost every time this happened, Corduroy would come over and nudge Denny’s limp little body and his heart rate would go back up right away.”
With the help, support and unconditional love from his foster family and his brother, Denim finally doubled his weight. Even though he was still the smallest in the clowder but he was out of danger. His beautiful personality definitely made up for what he lacked in size. Denim became a more and more playful little mischievous boy and was ready for the next chapter in his life. To find his forever home. Yige informed that “He found a lot of comfort from his brother Corduroy, and they ended up getting adopted together,”
“I’m so proud of how far they’ve come since the day I picked them up as sick little preemies,”
“Their journey has not been an easy one but it has taught me some very important lessons: sometimes we have to slow down and take things one day, one hour or one step at a time. We need to celebrate the small wins, and we must always have hope.”
And suddenly their vampire magic also started working. They grew feline fangs and a beautiful dark fever fur. When Denim finally hit triple grams on the scale, his proud brother showed him support. “Cordy made his way over and gently put his arm around his brother as if to say ‘I’m proud of you buddy, you made it.” Said Yige.
Like his other littermates who also look like mini panthers, Denim began his love now as a healthy black kitten. We already know that the sepsis caused a quirk in his fur coloring which made him develop a fever coat. That usually only happens to kittens when their mother develops severe illness during her pregnancy. But it was completely different in Denim’s case, his dark fur faded to smoke thanks to the trauma of his own illness as a preemie kitten.
As a happy and healthy kitten that is rapidly growing towards adulthood in his new home, Denim had slowly lost his fever coat and after completing his transition into Lestat the cat vampire is now fully grown as his fur is now in its real full glory. With his brother, Corduroy turned Laszlo still by his side, the pair has gone through and gown through so much in the last three months.
These two sibling kittens renamed Lestat and Laszlo are now living the best life with their wonderful forever family in their forever home that loves them to bits. This beautiful story and example of a miracle teaches us that one must always have hope for the better and never give up easily, they must keep trying and trying until they succeed. Give us your feedback on this incredible and inspiring story in the comments down below…