Widget

Widget was reported to us at 10.30pm on August Bank Holiday as a road trafic accident, one of our supporters saw the accident happen on a busy Tunbridge Wells road and phoned us for help and advice straight away.

On arrival at our vet, Widget was given a very poor prognosis and not expected to make the night. Poor Widget was in a very bad way her tongue had been severed at the back of her throat to within a few milimetres of being cut off completely, she had taken a massive blow to the head resulting in severe swelling and protusion of the eye, Wiget was also suffering from shock which in itself can be fatal to a cat.

One of our rescue team took the decision to request the vet make her comfortable and to ensure she was not in any pain and see what the morning was to bring.

Huge Mountain to climb

To everyones absolute amazement, Widget did pull through the night and although she was still an extremely poorly cat the decision was made to carry out the first of what was to be one of many necessary operations firstly to repair her tongue and broken jaw.

Widget was such a fighter and came through every operation (eight in all) oozing love and attention to everyone who came into contact with her. However, eating with her sewn back together but still fragile tongue was the biggest hurdle and the only way she could eat was by being fed by hand via a tube which was surgically placed in her nose and went straght down into her stomach.

After several weeks in the care of our Lewisham clinic there was still no sign of Widget making any attempt to eat on her own. She was then then referred to a neurosurgeon who also gave Widget a poor prognosis as he found some of the nerves in her tongue had been damaged beyond repair resulting from the accident. He felt she would probably never be able to eat on her own but suggested a replacement feeding tube which was inserted on her flank into her stomach which seemed more comfortable for her.

As the weeks went by, hope that Widget would eat again were fading, even her foster mum who had religiously fed Widget via the tube, six times a day for five weeks was facing the prospect that she was not going to make it. However, just when all hopes of her recovery seemed lost, Widget was offered a little liquid food by putting a finger to her mouth (this had been done every day since her accident as a tempter) and she took a lick! followed by another then another it was truely amazing. That was the start of her real recovery and she has'nt looked back since.

Now eating completely on her own, Widget has come on in leaps and bounds, she does still have some problems, her sight and hearing are impaired and she can only eat liquidised food, but she plays like a kitten, can jump up onto beds, loves lots of cuddles and attention and is as mischevious as the next cat when she wants to be. She is as clean as can be and washes herself (although not very well!) and always uses her litter tray. Through out all she has never stopped being a really loving little cat, however not so little now she has gained nearly two kilos in the last two months!

Sadly no owner was ever found although leaflets were posted and hundreds of doors knocked on to try and trace them. For now Widget will stay with her foster mum, but an indoor home is sought for her where someone is around a lot to give her all the love and attention she so deserves. For more information on offering her a home or if you wish to donate towards Widgets vast veterinary bill call 01892 514655 or email tunwells@celiahammond.org

Finn

CHAT received a distressed call from a member of the public who had found a dog in starving condition, cowering under a bush in a park in South East London.

Two of our rescue workers went to collect the dog and were utterly shocked at his condition. On arrival at the clinic, he was immediately seen by our vets. A young adult male Staffordshire Bull terrier, estimated by his teeth to be around 3 years old, should weigh a minimum of 20Kg. Finn weighed 7.3Kg!

Finn was struggling to support his weight and was in a near collapsed state. Finn was put on a drip and is now being fed small frequent meals to gradually build his weight.

All animal charities in the London area are very concerned about the plight of Staffordshire Bull terriers. Staffordshire Bull terriers are typically being acquired by inexperienced owners who see them as having a 'macho' image.

Staffies are being bred and sold for profit by people who have no concern as to their future wellbeing. Some dogs are encouraged to be aggressive or even used in illegal dog fighting.

Once the novelty of owning one of these dogs has worn off, many end up dumped or handed in to rescue centres. Rescue centres in the London area are struggling to cope with the numbers of Staffies in their care. For those dogs that have been encouraged to be aggressive, their fate is usually euthanasia. For the rest, they struggle to find new homes because the previously good name of Staffordshire Bull terriers has been tarnished by their new image and bad press.

Finn is a good natured dog who most certainly deserves a second chance.

Somebody with no conscience bred from Finn's mum and sold him.In London, Staffie pups are regularly sold through free-ad papers and websites with no checks being made as to who is buying them. Many dealers purchase animals of all descriptions from these websites and classified ads. They pose as genuine homes purchasing animals that are then resold at a higher price.

Our advice to anyone with a Staffie who has any conscience is to neuter your dog or bitch so that you are no part of this trade in misery.


Finn is not ready for a new home yet. He is still under close observation and care from our veterinary staff and may have suffered longterm damage to his health.

Rudy

25th March 2009
A member of the public came into the Canning Town clinic at lunchtime a few days ago to say she'd walked past a general store in the Barking Road and seen a cat lying motionless in a plastic box next to boxes of vegetables. We drove straight up to the store and found Rudy barely alive - no-one working there had any idea where he'd come from, only that he'd been lying in the box since they opened the shop early in the morning. No - they hadn't rung anyone to come and get him - blank faces all round.

We rushed Rudy back to the clinic where every effort was made to save him - he was shocked, non-responsive, cold as ice, his jaw was fractured in three places and he had head trauma.

He is now doing better than we expected and we're pleased with his progress

30th March: Rudy is further improving and due further surgery next week to rebuild his jaw. At the moment he is being fed through a feeding tube bypassing his mouth but is doing lots of purrs and paddy paws so is obviously feeling better.

Update 6th April Good news as Rudy continues to improve. He has now had surgery to repair his jaw and we are confident that he will recover completely from this injury. More updates on his progress to follow...

16th April: And finally Rudy now recovered!

204 Yorkies Rescued from Squalid Puppy Farm

Please Click Here for a full report on the Yorkshire Terriers rescued by the Trust on Easter Sunday 2006

Silver and Sapphire's story

Sometimes the level of callousness of people towards animals shocks those of us who think we've seen it all.
One day, after we closed, a woman arrived at the door with a small cat basket - what would have happened to the cats if I hadn't been in the office doing paperwork, I dread to think - saying she wanted to "get rid" of a cat and 4 month old kitten.
The mewing coming from the basket sounded like a much younger kitten, so I was horrified when I looked in the basket to see the adolescent kitten squashed at the back of the basket with a tiny newborn kitten at the front, together with the poor mother cat and a second kitten covered in blood and amniotic fluid which the mother hadn't cleaned because she was so stressed. The first kitten was clean and the mother had bitten through the umbilical cord, so we think the woman saw she had started to give birth at home and decided on the spot to stuff them all into a basket and dispose of them.
Her excuse was that she was pregnant and didn't want animals in the house.
We've called the mother Silver and her adolescent daughter is Sapphire. After we'd cleaned and dried Silver - she was soaking wet - and given her a comfortable bed, she gave birth to two more kittens but was so traumatised, she wasn't able to take them out of the sac or clean them, so we did this for her and put them next to her to suckle.
Thank goodness she is relaxed enough now to feed them and have something to eat herself.

Silver and Sapphire were lucky enough to be adopted by a woman who adopted hem and a kitten and cared for the other kittens until they were old enough to find new homes.

We can rescue them only you can save them.
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Sam was thrown away with the rubbish...

15th Jan: Sam is a tame kitten who was deliberately thrown down a rubbish chute at a tower block into a communal waste skip.
The skip was emptied by a compactor lorry which then drove to a local waste transfer site where the contents were tipped out onto the ground.
A digger was then used to shovel the waste across the ground where to the drivers horror a tabby kitten staggered out of the rubbish.

He was brought straight to our veterinary clinic where it was clear that he had suffered a blow to the head. Sam's fur absolutely stank of rubbish and we think that he may have spent as long as a couple of days in the communal skip.

18th JAN: After three days of care at Canning Town Clinic Sam had made good progress, we were initially worried that he was blind, but he can now see and the bruising and swelling is subsiding.

He was still not quite "with it", though and and we needed to wait and see to what extent he would regain his faculties.

30th January: Sam had continued to make progress, although he was not 100% fully recovered.

Sam was given a new friend as a companion - an 8 week old female kitten.

5th February: Good news - Sam and his new friend have found a new home together! Sam is still not totally recovered, the best way to describe him is that he is a little slow, whereas his friend leaps around and reacts to the slightest movement or sound, Sam takes time to think before he reacts. Their new owner is a Doctor and their new home is a safe spacious, indoor only flat.

7th February: We are pleased to hear that Sam and his friend, now named Lottie are settling in well.

Molly

Molly was living stray in an elderly woman's garden and was reported to us because of her sore scabby ears.

Molly had white ears and had developed skin cancer from sunbathing. In order to stop it spreading further her ears had to be amputated - don't worry she can still hear it's just the ear flaps!

Cats with white ears and noses are at risk or developing skin cancer if they spend too much time lying in the sun. Owners can protect their cats by applying sun block to vulnerable areas on sunny days. If you spot red, sore scabby ear tips or scabs on your cats nose that don't heal they may have skin cancer so take them to a vet to be checked. If caught in time your cats life can be saved.

See Molly in the video clip below...

Molly is a friendly, adult cat who loves attention, she has now found a new home.

CANNING TOWN BRANCH RESCUE 24 ABANDONED CATS

We received calls from concerned members of the public reporting a large number of hungry cats that had appeared and were trying to get into houses through windows and via cat flaps.

It was not difficult to locate the source of the cats and we visited to offer assistance.

It turned out that the cats owner had got two cats - one male and one female, both unneutered, two years ago. The cats had kittens and then the cats kittens had kittens and he now had 24 cats.

The property was rented and the Housing Association took out an injunction against the cats owner banning him from keeping them, so he had put all the cats outside his flat and shut the window.

The hungry cats had little shelter and some were wet through as it had been raining. Many were just waiting patiently, hoping the window would be reopened so they could get back into the flat.

PHOTO: Some of the cats in the garden upon our arrival.

The cats were all very thin and had been without enough food for some time.

The owner explained to us that he had tried to get help and showed us a list of places he had tried. He could not afford to feed or care for them properly and the situation had got out of control.

Most of the cats are quite friendly and we were able to pick them up and put them into cat carrying baskets. A few shier cats had to be trapped.

The cats were brought to the Canning Town clinic where they were all been neutered, vaccinated, treated for fleas and worms and microchipped.

They were all thin but once provided with regular meals and sufficient food began gaining weight. They are mostly very pretty semi-longhaired cats and although some of their coats appeared rather scrawny initially they soon become beautiful looking cats again.

The cats were transferred to our sanctuary at Hastings and are seeking homes in pairs with a garden.

Mother cat and newborn kittens rescued from derelict car

Canning Town Branch were called to pick up a friendly but emaciated cat from a front garden on a main road.

On arrival at our Canning Town clinic she was examined and it was soon discovered that she had milk so must be feeding kittens.

An urgent search was begun to try and locate her babies, we leafleted and asked around in the area where she was found, but no one had seen her before. After she had a full health check, and been spayed, we put a message collar on her.

Then in the evening once the road was quiet, we put her back where she was found, with the hope of following her to her kittens. She eventually led us down a nearby road, but then ran up a high fence, over a very high pile of tyres (photos right) where we could not follow in the dark, and disappeared from view.

We were very worried that we wouldn't see her again until her kittens were old enough to come out and follow her to food, but at least we had a good idea of where she would be.

The following day, Nichola, one of our Canning Town rescue team visited all the adjoining homes and businesses, checking gardens and sheds for any sign of the cat and kittens. There was no sign of them.


On the off chance that they could be somewhere in the pile of tyres, she started hunting through the tyres, climbing all the way through to discover an alleyway (on left in the photo) between the houses.

Eventually the alleyway led to an abandoned car yard (on right of photo).

In the back of the first car, in an old pick up truck, they they were!!!
The kittens all snuggled up together in the foot well (see photos left), with mommy cat peering through the windscreen.

Five healthy kittens 4-5 days old and sadly the body of one kitten that looked stillborn.

Another rescue worker brought along a basket whilst Nichola fed her and fussed her until we could get her and her kittens to safety.

The mother cat and her five kittens are all now in a foster home and will be very happy there and well cared for until they are old enough to be rehomed.

Nichola has recently completed her training with us as a member of our rescue team and this was her first (and very successful!) rescue mission undertaken on her own.

One eyed Jack

Jack wandered into someones garden in a desperate state, his eye ball was a seething mass of maggots.

They quickly took him straight to their local vet, where they were offered the option of putting him to sleep.

Fortunately for Jack the kind person who found him wanted to try and save his life so they phoned our Canning Town Branch where we agreed to try and save him. Jack was raced to our veterinary clinic where our staff where waiting to immediately attend to him.

On the journey to us Jack's eye ball actually fell out.
As soon as he arrived Jack was anaesthetised and the maggots were individually removed with tweezers. The empty eye socket was then cleaned and sutured.

We have taken photos of his operation which some people may find upsetting. To view them please Click Here


We usually do not share images of some of the worst cases of suffering that we encounter with you, our supporters, because we appreciate that they are unpleasant and distressing.
We have decided to enable you to see these photos so that you can see how much C.H.A.T's veterinary clinics and rescue teams are needed.
In order to be able to help as many animals as possible, we do rely on your financial support and generosity to fund our rescue work, because cats like Jack need you.
If you can make a donation to help fund our rescue work we would be very grateful.

For Jack there will be a happy ending, he is making a good recovery at Canning Town Branch and will soon be ready for a new home.

COLIN - A STRAY RESCUED WITH A TERRIBLE INFECTED INJURY CAUSED BY A CAT COLLAR

Cat collars can be very dangerous, the term 'collar wound' refers to the often terrible injuries that are caused when the cat gets a leg, two legs or a jaw through its collar, if not promptly freed from the collar the collar will start to cut into the flesh.

If a cat is stray and does not have an owner to remove the collar, it will continue 'sawing' into the cats flesh, the wound then becomes infected and in the summer months will attract flies and become fly blown.

We frequently rescue cats that have got one leg caught through a collar and have a deep wound under a leg which requires surgery and a relatively lengthy time to heal as it is an area where there is a lot of friction as the cat moves around.

Colin's case is the most shocking 'collar wound' cat that we have ever come across.

We debated whether this was too shocking to share with you, our supporters. It is cases like this that really hit home why our work to help stray cats is so important, work that we are only able to carry out thanks to the generosity of our supporters.

Colin is now pain free and recovering well.

Colin was found hiding under a car and crying pitifully.

Our vets found that his blue collar was deeply embedded around his trunk in the flesh behind his front legs, to the extent that
it couldn't even be seen in places and the buckle was buried deep in his chest.

The whole mess was grossly infected and the poor cat must have
been in agony for months.

The collar was cut out under anesthetic and Colin was put on
antibiotics until the infection was under control and we were able to
close the dreadful wound which encircled his whole body.


This has all healed very well and Colin is now hoping to have a kind new home of his own soon.

He is very loving and has a gentle, sweet character now that he is no longer in pain.

Colin is being cared for at our Canning Town Clinic.

If you are able to make a donation to help us to continue our vital work to help cats like Colin please do so. Thank you