Gloucestershire: Abandoned kitten 'doing amazingly'

A "helpless" kitten found abandoned in a garden at a week old, is "doing amazingly" after being nursed back to health.

Tiny Tim was found by gardener Lloyd Houghton in Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, who took him to a vet for emergency treatment.

He has been fostered by cat care assistant Dan Smith.

"He was a strong character right from the start and thankfully he's stayed that way," said Mr Smith.

The kitten, now eight weeks old, was found "wailing" in the garden by Mr Houghton, with his mother nowhere to be seen.

"I could see he was in need of special care as he was far too young to be away from his mother," he said.

"I tried to look for the mother, who I think is a feral cat that roams the gardens, but there was no cat or any more kittens to be found."

Mr Houghton took the kitten to the Evesham branch of charity Cats Protection, where he was given round-the-clock care.

Deputy centre manager Amie Jones said they had no way of knowing why Tiny Tim was abandoned.

"His mum might have been moving the litter and dropped him or got spooked," she said.

"We asked around the area where he was found but nobody knew of a mother cat with new kittens, so he was extremely vulnerable and certainly would not have survived much longer if he hadn't been brought to us."

The kitten is now settling into a new home with Mr Smith.

"Tim is doing amazingly. Now he's getting a little older I'm really beginning to see a very playful little man, he loves his toys but enjoys playing with me even more," he said.

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