Professional photography by Lauren Setterberg Photography
On a cold Friday night on the Bluff, little Marvel was found, along with his siblings, hiding on a vacant plot of land in the tall grass. Their cries could be heard from far, and a kind lady came to their aid. She drove the kittens to Clare Burns to foster the sweet babies for Kitty Care-Durban during lockdown level 3. They arrived on the night of the 22nd of May (just before the 21h00 curfew announced by Cyril Ramaphosa had begun).
On arrival, Clare assessed the kittens and found them to be cold, around three weeks old (although the size of 2-week-olds due to malnutrition), and the smallest of the three, little Marvel, had snuffles. Clare ensured they were warm; she nebulised them and then fed them. Little Marvel wouldn’t suckle, so Clare had to use a miracle nipple to feed him drop by drop on his tongue.
The next morning, Marvel was taken in as an emergency to Kitty Care-Durban’s amazing vets, Dr Yesh and Dr Omashini, at Montclair Animal Hospital. He was assessed and the prognosis didn’t look good, as our little Marvel was extremely weak. He was treated with some antibiotics, and his foster mom was sent home to care for him. Clare nebulised him daily every few hours in the hope that he’d survive.
Marvel’s siblings, Memphis and Mishu, were adopted together once they reached the age of eight weeks, but poor little Marvel had a longer wait due to his congenital birth condition.
Much to our surprise and joy, little Marvel went from strength to strength! He grew stronger day by day and started to surprise us all!
When Marvel was around six weeks old, however, his foster mommy noticed what looked like a hole in his chest about the size of a R5 coin! She sent a video off to her friend Lizette Myburgh, from Kitty Care-Durban, who has experience with special needs kitties, and we decided to take him straight to the vet for a checkup.
Upon arriving at the vet, Marvel was examined, and the hole appeared to be in his diaphragm. After a discussion, it was decided that it would be best for Marvel to grow older before an operation takes place. At times the hole affected his breathing when he was younger, and his foster mom would place him on the nebuliser. After a few weeks he no longer required nebulisation and was looking extremely healthy despite the hole!
The hole is a congenital birth defect, much like his little heart-shaped nose! The nose doesn’t affect him in any way, and we’re not sure yet as to how the hole affects him other than the fact that his growth rate is slower than that of his siblings and occasionally he needed to be nebulised.
Recently he went for a checkup at the vet, and it seems that the hole in his diaphragm is actually getting smaller!
Marvel will have an X-ray of the hole when he goes for his neuter procedure in a little under a month’s time, and should an operation be necessary, then he’ll receive the required surgery to close the hole (although we’re praying that it’ll close up on its own).
After his neuter, he’ll hopefully be going off to his forever home with an amazing family in Hillcrest, KZN, who’ve adopted from Kitty Care-Durban before. He’ll certainly land his bum in the butter should they adopt him.
Clare, Marvel’s foster mum, shares…
As Marvel’s foster mom, I couldn’t have asked for a better happy tail than this one!
Marvel’s favourite things to do are:
Play ball games
Watch the birds fly by (and chase them!)
Play hide-and-seek
Take naps (just about anywhere!)
Marvel got his name because of the “M” on his forehead. We call him “Marvel the Miracle!”, because he certainly has defied all odds when we all thought he wouldn’t survive, from one curveball to another – this little fella certainly has a strong will to survive.
Further update of 2nd September from Clare…
Marvel is such a blessed boy! He was neutered today at our amazing vet, Montclair Animal Hospital. He also had an x-ray of his chest to see the extent of the “hole” near his diaphragm! We were met only with good news!
Whilst the hole is still there, it’s a congenital deformity. It’s not affecting his health at this stage! Of course, throughout the rest of his life, he’ll need to be monitored should anything occur over time as his lung space is smaller than that of the average cat. However, all in all, some wonderful good news from our vet today! Marvel is in good health!
And even better news... he has a forever home to go to!
Marvel… from rags to riches, literally! He came to Kitty Care-Durban as a very sick baby who we thought would never survive. We gave him all the TLC possible and he’s thrived!
Marvel is a special boy who needed a family who loved him for who he is and could offer him the very best life, enabling him to play both indoors and outdoors and also to bring joy to a family. I always believe that cats choose their homes and not the other way around.
When Tammy and her son came to visit me and the kittens a few weeks ago, Marvel immediately bonded with her son. Marvel has never bonded with any visitor; he normally runs and hides from strangers and is skittish with people he’s never met. I just knew then that he’d chosen his forever family. I felt the warmth in their hearts towards him and knew it was the right home (everything I’ve ever prayed for). It was that spark of love in her son’s eyes when their eyes met, and it was then that I knew “This is it”. Marvel chose his forever family. I couldn’t be happier, and the love they show towards him is more than I could ever ask for!
Tammy van Niekerk, Marvel’s new owner, shares…
We visited Clare and just fell in love with Marvel. He’s so beautiful with his heart-shaped nose and big eyes... he even has little tufts of hair on the tops of his ears, almost like he’s a little lynx or wild cat. Nature-wise, though, Marvel is nothing like a wild cat; he’s just so loving and gentle.
Initially, we kept him separate from our other fur babies so they could all adjust to our new little member of the family. By feeding them treats on either side of the door, they soon became accustomed to each other. We’re thrilled to have Marvel as part of our family now!
