A 5-week-old kitten found "cold to the touch" in Berkley, Massachusetts, earlier this month has been nursed back to health by the Animal Rescue League of Boston.
The kitten, now named Applesauce, was found outdoors in freezing temperatures among a cat colony by a resident who monitors and feeds the cats and became alarmed when they found the kitten cold and listless. The person took the kitten inside, called the Animal Rescue League and did their best to warm up the kitten using blankets and feeding it sugar water.
When the Animal Rescue League arrived, they said the kitten's body temperature was just 93 degrees -- at least seven degrees below a cat's normal body temperature of 100.5-102.5.
The kitten was taken to the Dedham Animal Care and Adoption Center, where a veterinary team used a heated blanket to increase its body temperature. Over the course of several hours, the kitten's body temperature had risen to 98 degrees and he was starting to perk up.
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Once the kitten was stabilized, the Animal Rescue League placed Applesauce into foster care, where he spent most of the first 24-36 hours curled up in a blanket sleeping. By the third day, the kitten rebounded.
At just seven weeks old, Applesauce is still too young to be adopted. But the Animal Rescue League said he should be available for adoption in a matter of weeks.
