I worked in Holding today and met some new cats.
First there were Mum and Daughter, Sophie and Sheba. Sadly their owner could no longer afford to keep them. Both were a little frightened to start with, but it wasn't long before Sophie was enjoying a bit of a fuss with me.
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| Sophie enjoying some attention |
Daughter Sheba, on the other hand, was much more timid. Eventually she plucked up enough courage to play with the bottom of my trousers but that was as close as she wanted to be.
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| Sheba |
When it came to putting them back into their cage Sheba tried her best to keep on the move so I couldn't catch her! Once she was in my arms though she was happy for a tickle. A pair of lovely cats, I'm sure in the right environment Sheba will soon become more confident.
Flash was brought into holding while I was cleaning. Emma started to give him his health check and fill out his record sheet. At around 4 months old, he's only ever know life on the street, no surprise then to find him covered in ticks and fleas.
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| Flash |
I held Flash while Emma got to work on the tick problem. She used a special little plastic tool to remove them. If they're not removed correctly the head of the tick will be left in the skin which will lead to infection. Poor flash had a lot, all over his face and ears. As you can see, some of them were quite big!
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| Ticks!!! yuck |
It also looks like Flash doesn't want to put weight on one of his front paws. There is no obvious sign of injury so we'll see what the vet makes of it.
Ruby is still in holding, she is shown to potential adopters, even though she isn't in one of the main cat rooms.
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| Ruby |
The last cat in holding today is Tia. She's 17 and is suffering from a thyroid problem. Her owners were considering putting her to sleep. Now she is in the care of the Shelter where she can receive the medication she needs to make her feel better.
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| Tia |
Unfortunately, she is struggling to adjust to her change in circumstances and hasn't yet been tempted with any food. I spent some time with her and found that she enjoyed being brushed but couldn't encourage her to eat. She doesn't like to be handled and isn't keen on medical intervention which is going to make treating her difficult.
The Staff will do everything they can to try and gain her trust and get her medical needs under control. It might be difficult to find someone willing to adopt an older cat with medical needs, but it may be that a foster place can be found instead. Long term foster placements can be used so that medical treatment is paid for by the shelter but the cat benefits from having a loving home. If you are experienced in giving medication and could offer a long term foster home to Tia, please call the Shelter to discuss.
I also had a peek in Maternity.
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| Texas and her kittens |
Texas and her two kittens are still here, it won't be long before they go out to a foster carer.
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| Little cutie |
A stray and her kittens were trapped by Maggie a few days ago and they are now at the Shelter.
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| Dora |
Dora was in a very poor state and had her front leg through the collar she was wearing. The collar had to be cut off as it had gone into the flesh and left deep awful sores
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| Dora's collar wound |
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| Poor Dora |
The collar was one with an elasticated section, it's supposed to allow the cat to wriggle its head out should the collar become caught on anything. Sadly, what often happens is that the cat manages to get it's front leg through and there is no way it can free itself. One of my own cats had this experience and I haven't used these types of collars since.
Living outside with a injury like this, she's done well to look after her kittens, the fact she had the collar shows she was owned, so life on the streets must have been awful for her. She originally had four kittens but sadly two didn't make it.
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| Dora's kitten |
Thank goodness Maggie was able to get her and her babies to the Shelter.
There are also a number of feral kittens at the Shelter. They are now looking for experienced cat owners to become foster carers to help these frightened animals adjust to life in a home.
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| Could you foster a feral?? |
If this is a challenge you could rise to, please give the Shelter a call any day between 1pm and 4pm.
And finally, little Ernest was at the Shelter today. Still fighting a big battle, he's underweight and has periods when his temperature goes far too low.
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| Ernest |
I got to have a lovely cuddle before I left :)
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