Kitten’s new mum is purrrrfect!

The abandoned kitten is the jet black kitten in the centre of the picture

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An abandoned kitten has been given a second chance after being taken in by Hopwood Hall College staff and its new surrogate feline mum, Jess.

The adorable jet black kitten was brought into the college by one of the students whose neighbour had found the lonely abandoned kitten while clearing out their garden shed. As the College works with the Blue Cross and has its very own Blue Cross chalets for rescue cats, the College is the perfect place to help care for the kitten.

Staff were ready to hand rear the kitten but decided that there might be an even better solution. The College is currently also looking after a female cat called Jess who has just given birth to her own litter of four kittens. Staff decided to see if Jess would be happy to become a surrogate mum for the new arrival – and she has!

After leaving the kitten with Jess overnight, it was clear that she was happy to add another addition to her family and since then the kitten has been making friends with its new brothers and sisters.

It’s not clear yet whether the kitten is male or female as staff and students need to avoid human contact until it is three-four weeks old, to ensure mum does not reject it. However, if it turns out to be female, the kitten will be called June and Juno if it’s a boy.

Penny Dean, lecturer at the college’s centre for life sciences, said: “Jess is a beautiful, affectionate tortoiseshell and white cat and now an excellent mum too.”

Jess and her kittens will be looked after by the college until new homes can be found for them.