rescue stories
Humans – the ‘intelligent’ species?!
A few years ago, on an afternoon in early summer, I received a call from a woman who had been feeding cats living feral in her garden. About three weeks before, the two females had given birth to a total of ten kittens. Soon after, the mothers took their kittens under a pile of rubble, brick and ash and now four of the kittens had reappeared. How can I describe their condition? It was as if someone had taken black masks and stuck them firmly to their tiny faces, leaving only their mouths and noses uncovered. They had probably been saved from suffocation by the very act of suckling, which would have prevented a build-up of the dirt over their mouths. I was so angry when, working together, the vet and I gently removed the ‘masks’ only to find that two of the four babies were in such a bad condition, their eyes and surrounding tissue having been totally destroyed, that they had to be put to sleep. And six of the kittens were still missing! I spent the rest of that day taking the pile of ash and rubble apart and, by midnight, had found another four. Three of these little ones survived. The last two were nowhere to be found and I suspect they may have been taken by seagulls or rats in that jungle of a garden.
Possibly the most infuriating thing about this whole incident was that the person who called had watched generations of kittens come to grief in her garden but had “enjoyed watching them play around” too much to get help for them. She had no idea what had become of them all. They just tended to “disappear” after a while. Also, despite having witnessed the horror of what had happened to these particular kittens, she refused to let me take her own tom cat to the vet for neutering.
Wasn’t natural, she said……… Back to top
‘Bear’ and ‘Badger’ – an inspiring pair!
Bear and Badger were born 10 years ago to a feral mum who was brought into our care in the late stages of her pregnancy. Their mum gave birth to four kittens – two healthy girls and two healthy boys. The boys, however, were born with cerebral palsy. Bear and Badger are affected by this rare condition in much the same way as humans – coordination and balance can be difficult, but the condition causes no pain. There was no debate about the future of these remarkable brothers – like all other cats who come into our care, the right homes would be found for them. Bear found a home with his fosterer, whilst Badger went to live with a wonderful couple in Glasgow. Bear is incredibly independent and has always enjoyed the outdoors so has a totally enclosed garden in which to play, whilst Badger was always more of a ‘people’ cat and lives safely indoors with other feline friends and doting human companions!
These brothers are truly remarkable. Nothing stops them, and they are proof that the right home will be found for every single cat – regardless of past troubles or physical difficulties.
