NEWSHOUNDComet's new family
Comet, a two-week-old kitten, was
abandoned by the side of the road. He
desperately needed someone to take care
of him, so we rushed him to our Canterbury
& District Branch, where we asked an
expert for help… Twinkle!
Twinkle is a rescue cat, with
a kitten of her own, called
Star. Sadly, while giving
birth, Twinkle lost all her
other kittens. But she and
Star were happy to make
room for Comet.
Twinkle is Comet's new
surrogate mum. Surrogacy
is quite common in mammals,
especially with cats, who -
when in big groups - often
feed, clean and toilet each
other's kittens. "It's much
better for Twinkle and Star to
raise Comet," explains Natalie,
who manages the animal
centre. "They're way better
than us at teaching
normal cat behaviours
such as cleaning, hunting
and playing."
Star and Comet are like
real brothers now and
eventually they'll be put up for
adoption. Twinkle has already
been reserved!
Words: Morwenna Kearns and Benedict Wood. Photos: RSPCA. Illustrations: vecteezy.com
SummerSummer
Take action!
• Ask your grown-up to read our
advice on dogs in hot cars:
rspca.org.uk/dogsinhotcars
and dogs on hot walks:
rspca.org.uk/hotwalks
• They might need to dial 999 if
they see a dog alone in a hot car.
Dogs can get too hot when they go for walks on warm days. And when the pavement is hot to the touch, it can burn their
paws. Walk them early in the morning or in the evening. For more tips on how to keep pets cool, turn to page three.
NO FUN for hot dogs
Every summer, dogs are left in hot cars. We need everyone to know
why that's dangerous.
Many people think it's ok to leave dogs in cars parked in the shade or if they
leave a window open. But a car can become as hot as an oven even when it's not
that warm outside. Even on a mild sunny day, temperatures can double in a car
in just one hour. That's unbearable for people and can be deadly for dogs.
A 'surrogate' is an animal
who looks after another animal's baby
Comet
Twinkle
with Comet
and Star