Roscoe the kitten was a palm-sized newborn without a mother or siblings when he was brought into a municipal shelter in Las Vegas. Being a tiny neonate at the shelter, he was vulnerable and had the odds stacked up against him. His eyes were still closed and ears folded. He was in urgent need of round-the-clock care and a dedicated bottle feeder.
Nikki Martinez, an animal rescuer and foster carer, learned about his plight and stepped up to help. She went to pick up the kitten from the shelter and gave him a fresh start in a comfortable home.
"He was so tiny at four days old. I always worry about neonatal, motherless newborns. They have such an uphill battle without a mama," Nikki shared with Love Meow.
Nikki immediately treated the kitten, kept him warm with a heated bed as Roscoe couldn't regulate his body temperature just yet. She filled his belly with kitten formula and let him rest in a cozy incubator. The little one was able to sleep soundly that night.Nikki and her husband, who goes by Foster Papi, have rescued countless cats and kittens in need, as a team. With Roscoe, there was no exception. They started taking turns to feed and care for the kitten every couple of hours.
After many sleepless nights, things began to look up for Roscoe. "Once he started gaining weight, I started to be more confident that he'd be okay," Nikki told Love Meow.
"We were exhausted from the feedings every two hours around the clock. Foster Papi said he'd never felt jet-lag before without ever leaving the same time zone. But Roscoe certainly is worth it."
At around 10 days old, Roscoe opened his eyes to see for the first time, and immediately cried for food and attention.
Nikki and her husband kept up with the demanding feeding schedule to ensure Roscoe was in tip-top shape and constantly loved.
Once the kitten felt some pep under his paws, he began to waddle after feeding, trying to figure out his feet. As soon as he was placed back in his comfy nest, he went right to sleep.
When Roscoe was around three weeks old, he graduated from being fed with a syringe to a proper baby bottle.
"I prefer to start newborns out using a syringe so you can tell exactly how much food they are able to ingest at each feeding. He was knocking out 20 ml at each feeding, so we were ready to move to the bigger size with a baby bottle."
Roscoe will snuggle up to his faux mama (a plushy with a heartbeat) after meal time and doze off to the sound of the heartbeat.
With the help of his devoted foster parents, he now has a chonky belly to show off.
His ears are unfolding, and he can now hear his people coming into the room and will greet them with his squeakiest meows.
The pint-sized wonder has blossomed into a chonky fluff-ball thanks to the second chance. At almost four weeks old, Roscoe is ready to conquer the world with his charm and cuteness.
