The Animals' Stories Page 2

Kittens Dumped in Skip

Last year, two tiny 2-3 week-old-kittens came into 7th Heaven that had been found dumped in a skip. Appalling, shocking but, unfortunately in  Northern Ireland, not at all surprising. The minute we saw them we knew it was touch and go whether they would survive.

They were two grey and white tabbies, one female, who we called Willow and one male, who we called Mallow. They were very small and thin but otherwise appeared healthy. However, caring for orphaned kittens of that age is always difficult and one can never be confident of their survival.
Initially, we hand-fed them with Cimicat formula which recreates, as best as possible, mother’s milk. They seemed to thrive on this and rapidly put on weight. Within a week or so, we had moved on to solid foods in the form of Hills A.D. and I.D., the former to bulk them up and the latter to prevent diarrhoea.

At this stage their appetite increased every day and their energy levels with it. On opening the door, they would dart out, lightening-quick, and be charging around the house. Only the sight of food brought them back, both of them climbing up our legs and backs to get at their prize before we even had a chance to put the food into their dish.  

Then we had a bit of a setback – Mallow and Willow contracted ringworm. Ringworm is a fungal infection that causes hair lose and crusty skin. It isn’t particularly serious but it is highly contagious. It is relatively easy to treat but it does take five weeks to clear up.

On the bright side, though, we had the little beasts for a few weeks longer than we thought. They really were a joy. Despite their bad start in life they were always running around and playing and would purr if you even looked at them. Our initial fears for their survival proved unfounded and both left us before Christmas, fit and healthy for their new homes.

Leona

We were called one night to get a cat that was roaming about someone’s garden. As we lived nearby, we went down straight away. On seeing her, we realised she was definitely ill.

 She was quite emaciated as if she hadn’t eaten for weeks. If this had have been the case, bad though it was, as not eating for any period of time can cause liver problems in cats, it would have been treatable. But the man that phoned us said that he had been feeding her whenever she appeared. When we got her home, and discovered she had swollen lymph nodes, we suspected the worst.

We took her to the vets, hoping it was some sort of viral infection but fearing it was cancer. The tests would take a few days. In the meantime, we brought her home and spent some time with her.

Despite her problems, she seemed glad for some company. She played with toy mice and balls and really loved rolling over to be stroked. She purred away contentedly, as if just having shelter, a regular supply of food and a bit of attention was all she craved.
When the news came back it wasn’t good. She didn’t have cancer but she did have leukaemia. But, at least, with leukaemia, she would have some life. The vet told us she could live for another 6 or 7 years.

Leona, of course, was oblivious to all the fuss. To her, she already had a new lease of life. She was safe and warm and being fed. What more could a cat ask for? Well, a new home for a start. But that wasn’t long in coming.

Despite the restrictions imposed on someone having a cat with leukaemia, e.g. the owner can’t let the infected cat out and cannot own any other cat, we quickly found the prefect home for her. A lady from North Belfast, whose cat had recently died, took to the plight of Leona immediately.
So we took her up to her new home, expecting her to be a bit nervous and a bit cautious. But not a bit of it. Leona instantly made herself at home, prowling around the living room before venturing into kitchen to explore what the food situation was. All the while, purring away. We may have been depressed, hearing about her diagnosis but Leona wasn’t. For the first time in her short life, she was blissfully happy.

Marmalade

 Marmalade was a very lucky kitten. She was thrown out of a car on to a grass verge back in February. Fortunately, a driver behind the vehicle saw it happen, stopped and found the little creature by the side of the road. He wrapped it up in a blanket and brought it to us.

Initially she looked in a bad way. She was filthy, emaciated, and had very runny eyes with cat flu. However, after a brief rub down, and a feed she didn’t look as ill as we first thought and was quickly curled up in our arms purring away contentedly. Miraculously, she seemed to have escaped her ordeal of callously being tossed from a car relatively unscathed. The only problem was the cat flu for which we gave her antibiotics and these seemed to ease the symptoms quite quickly.

Marmalade was about five weeks old when we got her and after another 3 weeks, when she had fully recovered and got her first vaccination, we found her a home in Dromara where someone is now the proud owner of a little orange and ginger bundle of joy.

Oil and Liquorice

One of the cutest little kittens we have had through our doors came to us in October. The daughter of a lady who had given us some semi-feral cats, brought this little, black kitten to our door. She found it, covered in oil in the forecourt of where she worked. She also thought it had  damaged its leg as it wasn’t walking properly.

We gave him a quick wash and brush up, and out of the oily mess, there arose the most beautiful bundle of fur. Now, when I say bundle of fur I am, perhaps, being a bit pliable with the truth. He was half a bundle of fur. His back, tail and head were replete with shiny, black fur. His legs and belly, however were somewhat lacking in the fur department. They were, in fact, completely bereft, of anything resembling the customary feline coat. His limbs and underside were, to all intents and purposes, completely bald. It was as if he had put his overcoat on but, absentmindedly forgot to don his underwear and trousers. Nevertheless, it did make him extremely cute. It also made tickling his belly much more enjoyable for all concerned.
As for his damaged leg, there was no problem. Liquorice, as he had now been called, obviously walked in a peculiar manner because he didn’t like the feeling of the oil on his coat. Once this was removed, his gait returned to normal.

In fact, the oil had served Liquorice well. His little sad story and odd looks had touched the heart of many of you and he was booked for re-homing very quickly. We have been in touch with his new owner and, despite his fur growing back, he has still retained his unique cuteness and personality. She absolutely adores him – and who wouldn’t?

Poppy and Pepsi

Poppy came to us from Farmhill vets in Carrickfergus. She had been found in Tesco car park with a badly damaged tail. Unfortunately it was in such a bad state that she had to get most of it  amputated. Thankfully, despite whatever happened to her, she had no other injuries.
She was a young, cute, tabby female. Unsurprisingly, she was a little nervous at first but quickly came around. It wasn’t long before she started to relax and enjoy scoffing her food and getting stroked. She was a quiet little cat but appeared contented.

At the same time, we rescued Pepsi a beautiful grey cat from Larne. A man had lost his cat and went to the local vet to ask if anyone had found it. Unfortunately they hadn’t seen it but they told him about Pepsi, who had been abandoned with them. Feeling sorry, for him, he decided to take him home. Unfortunately, he already had another cat and she did not take to Pepsi at all which wasn’t really surprising considering he kept chasing her all over the house. It was at this point that he called us.

Pepsi, was the complete opposite of Poppy. He was very vocal and energetic and was forever getting up to mischief.

 Enter Janine, one of our volunteers, who had previously taken 3 kittens from us. Janine is a sucker for anything grey and feline. So, although, she had decided to take Poppy, her little stump of tail had touched her heart, she could not resist Pepsi either. Never one to do things by half, she whisked them both back home, to mingle with the rest of her extensive cat family.

Initially Poppy was little bit nervous and had a few minor health problems but she soon overcame these and fitted in well. Pepsi, on the other hand, just took over the whole house, being as boisterous as ever. A few months later, however, he did develop Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease and the formation of crystals were detected in his urine (see article on cats and crystals.

Luckily, Janine, having a cat already with the illness, was able to spot the symptoms and get Pepsi to a vet. Thankfully, a change of diet was all that was required to put things right and he’s now on the mend and back to being his usual mad self.

 

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