A South Devon animal rescue centre is caring for a newborn kitten who survived after being rejected by his mother.

Gables Dogs & Cats Home in Plymouth said seven kittens were brought to the centre the morning after they were born, but only three were barely still alive on arrival. Staff said the kittens were severely cold and unresponsive, and two of the three later died despite attempts to revive them.

The sole survivor, named Gabriel, weighs just 50 grams and is being hand-fed specialist formula every hour.  

General Manager Claire Sparkes said, “When they arrived at Gables, I placed the tiny kittens straight onto a heat pad to warm them slowly. When newborn kittens get too cold they are unable to suckle, so you can’t get any milk into them. Slowly little Gabriel started to perk up after a few hours and I was able to feed him a small amount of milk with a specialist syringe. He was too weak to suckle so it was a case of drip feeding him tiny amounts every hour, just to give him the strength to keep going. He is such a sweet little kitten and I am doing absolutely everything I can to help him, but as he is so tiny and frail, we are all hoping for a Christmas miracle that he survives!”

The centre estimates the cost of Gabriel’s ongoing care, including specialist milk, medication and routine veterinary treatment, will be around £500.

Gables Dogs & Cats Home does not receive government funding and says rising costs continue to put pressure on the charity. It has launched an appeal to support Gabriel’s care.

Donations can be made online through the charity’s website, via JustGiving or PayPal, by phone, by post or by text. Details are available at gables.org.uk.

The charity said that if more money is raised than needed for Gabriel’s treatment, any remaining funds will be used for other animals in its care.