Bonny

Meet Bonny who was given the name after the legendary female pirate ‘Anne Bonny’ as suggested by Bonny’s vet.

She didn’t know she needed to bite the umbilical cords either, so all the kittens became entangled in a ‘clump’ and needed to be separated. Being entangled meant that the blood supply to Bonny’s paw was cut off so the tissue started dying and turned black.

Mum and all five kittens were taken to see Tim at The Gatehouse Vet Centre. Three of them, including Bonny, were given antibiotics. Their amazing fosterer has fought to support them all with back up bottle feeding and has been cleaning Bonny’s paw and saw that all the dead necrotic tissue had now fallen off.

We took Bonny back to see Tim yesterday. She’s still on antibiotics but she’s also gained weight, going from 98g to 164g in six days so we know she and the other kittens are doing well otherwise.

Thankfully there is no sign of infection in Bonny’s leg, but as there is nothing to keep the skin attached at the end, we are watching to make sure that it doesn’t ‘roll’ up her leg like a ‘degloving’. We also need to watch mum to make sure she isn’t licking this too much so we may need to separate her to allow it to heal. We don’t yet know if she will need an amputation at some point, but we’re all hoping we can avoid her having to go through surgery while she is so tiny.

This little sweetheart has lost her paw because her young mum didn’t know what she was doing. Please, please, please neuter your cats!! Females can get pregnant around 4 months and male kittens can breed from 7 months. There are so many kittens who are born then will just suffer and die. Kittens should not be having kittens themselves!

Update 1:

Everyone is doing their absolute best to help this little girl. She has some oedema in her little leg which we are monitoring closely. Her beautiful little eyes are now open and she’s eating well. She isn’t out of the woods yet as she is so tiny, but we are giving it our best shot to ensure she can have a wonderful life.

9 July 2025 – Update 2

Beautiful Bonny was back at the vet centre yesterday and, as we pretty much expected, her vet was really pleased with her leg healing.

She’s also gaining weight nicely.

9th August – Update 3

Little Bonny is doing really well. The vet is really pleased with her.

She’s learning to adapt to walking with a missing paw. There is no fur on the bottom of her leg so she may well need to be an indoor cat or maybe have supervised access to walking on grass. She is going to have a normal cat life because she doesn’t know she’s different, but she is going to need extra care and supervision to ensure the end of her leg doesn’t get sore. We are very hopeful at this point but we will know more when she’s a bit bigger as to exactly how she is moving around.

She’s a little sweetheart and enjoyed the attention at the vets.

Baby Bonny Update

We are delighted to share that little Bonny is now thriving and doing really well despite losing her foot.

She has been nursed through her early weeks of healing by her dedicated fosterer who bottle fed her through the night and treated her paw as the necrotic tissue fell off. Her leg was bathed daily to keep it clean and antibiotics administered to prevent infection. Her leg has healed really well, and whilst she is missing a foot, she is loving her life climbing and playing just like her siblings .

We were worried about what the future might look like for Bonny because walking unevenly could cause chronic pain over time and she could begin to struggle at a younger age than other cats. Without a paw with normal protective, cushioning pads, the end of Bonny’s leg is in direct contact with the floor. The outdoors will be too harsh and would cause irritation.

If she shows signs she is in chronic pain, an amputation may still be a possibility at some point in the future. Any complications from a missing paw will be excluded by any insurance company, so whilst she’s a normal, happy gorgeous kitten in every other way, we did have concerns about finding the purrfect home.

Despite her difference, one thing we know is that Bonny has only ever experienced love and kindness from humans. Here’s the news we hoped for, but thought we would struggle to find…little Bonny is now reserved and going home very soon!

She has found an amazing forever home with a friend of one of the co-founders, who just happens to be a very experienced vet nurse and has specialist skills with cats! How wonderfully lucky is Bonny!!

Bonny has found her perfect match and we know her new family already love her so much and can’t wait for her to arrive home. She’s going to have a lovely big kitty brother too. We are all absolutely delighted! It really couldn’t be a better match

Have a wonderful life beautiful Bonny! You are very loved and very special